Arranged Marriage: Of a Malfoy and a Granger
by Lindseyg1117
Summary: The ministry passes a new law, enforcing the marriage of all wizards and witches from 17-35. What happens when Draco and Hermione find out they are matched to be married? Surely, nothing good. Terrible summary, but I hope you'll love it.
1. Chapter 1

An:

So, I began writing this story a very very long time ago, and have finally decided to actually finish it. I've now seen that this type of story has become popular among the DMxHG shippers, which makes me extremely excited because I get to read more like mine. Though, at the time I was writing this, the plot wasn't popular, not that I know of at least. But anyway. I hope you enjoy. (: I would also like to say that this story doesn't really follow all of the lines of the book. In this the war ended in sixth year, and they returned to school for their final year at Hogwarts.

-Lindsey.

All characters belong to J.K. Rolling; only the plot is mine, sadly.

* * *

"Ronald, please practice swallowing your food before you speak." Hermione said with a scowling face as she and her friends sat dining on their breakfast in the Great Hall.

"Soffy." He said, yet still with a mouthful of what was now unrecognizable food. Hermione rolled her eyes and opened one of the few letters that had been sent to her that morning. As she looked around the room she realized all had received the same letter, yet to open theirs as well. She noted the ministry's seal on the thick envelope before quickly tearing it open and pulling out the long, folded parchment. She quickly read it, then re-read it three more times as the horrifying words in front of her sunk in,

**Dear Miss. Hermione Granger,**

**As you may or may not have heard, the Ministry has passed a new marriage law. All witches and wizards who are of the ages 17 to 35 are to be betrothed to their 'soul mate'. With our leading magic, we will be able to find exactly who your soul mate should be, and you will be indefinitely binned to them. Once the two of you have met and a bond has been formed, (This bond we will explain more to you about in your next letter, which you will receive after you meet your betrothed) you have six months to wed, which in this time will be enough for the both of you to get settled and ready to start the new chapter in your life. **

**We believe by enforcing this new law, will create a happier wizarding world. If everyone has found the one person they belong with, and they truly love each other, there would be no chance of hate developing, and in result dark magic. We also believe that this law will bring more witches and wizards into this world, benefiting the magical world. **

**Failure to compromise with this new law will cause the Ministry to take away your magic and send you to live in the world of muggles. We do not wish to do this, but if you disobey and do not comply, we will be forced to do this.**

**We will be sending your next letter within the week, in the meantime we would like you to contact your betrothed, and make arrangements to meet. But, before you do that, you should probably know who your betrothed is. **

**After a series of test and analysis, we have come to the conclusion that your betrothed, Miss. Granger, is Draco Malfoy.**

**We will be in contact with you shortly. **

**Have a magical day,**

**The Ministry of Magic.**

She couldn't comprehend what her now wide eyes were reading. She let out a shrill, angered shriek and grabbed her letter before storming out of the great hall, oblivious to the strange stares that had began to accumulate as she passed each person. After looking around at each other, everyone slowly picked up their own letter and read what had caused Hermione Granger to 'freak out'. Some cries, some extremely angry screams, and plenty of obscenities were heard throughout the Great Hall, as everyone had realized that the rest of their life was to be changed.

Draco Malfoy looked around at everyone cautiously, assuming a riot had broken out or that death eaters were beginning to attack, and though the war was over he knew there was still a lingering chance of this happening. Once he realized people were screaming for no apparent reason, laughter became evident on his chiseled features. Yet to open his, he found this all very entertaining.

Blaise sat next to Draco, his head resting in his hands as if he was going to be sick. It was evident to anyone who had opened their letter that he wasn't pleased with whomever he was paired with. "What's your problem?" Draco asked, and Blaise only pointed to letter in front of Draco. Draco eyed his letter suspiciously before carefully picking it up and opening it.

**Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,**

**As you may or may not have heard, the Ministry has passed a new marriage law. All witches and wizards who are of the ages 17 to 35 are to be betrothed to their 'soul mate'. With our leading magic, we will be able to find exactly who your soul mate should be, and you will be indefinitely binned to them. Once the two of you have met and a bond has been formed, (This bond we will explain more to you about in your next letter, which you will receive after you meet your betrothed) you have six months to wed, which in this time will be enough for the both of you to get settled and ready to start the new chapter in your life. **

**We believe by enforcing this new law, will create a happier wizarding world. If everyone has found the one person they belong with, and they truly love each other, there would be no chance of hate developing, and in result dark magic. We also believe that this law will bring more witches and wizards into this world, benefiting the magical world. **

**Failure to compromise with this new law will cause the Ministry to take away your magic and send you to live in the world of muggles. We do not wish to do this, but if you disobey and do not comply, we will be forced to do this.**

**We will be sending your next letter within the week, in the meantime we would like you to contact your betrothed, and make arrangements to meet. But, before you do that, you should probably know who your betrothed is. **

**After a series of test and analysis, we have come to the conclusion that your betrothed, Mr. Malfoy, is Hermione Granger.**

**We will be in contact with you shortly. **

**Have a magical day,**

**The Ministry of Magic.**

"What?!" Draco yelled, gripping the parchment tightly in his hands.

"Who are you doomed with?" Blaise asked with a smirk, eyeing Draco, humor playing in his eyes.

Draco ignored his friends and left the table, his letter in hand as he headed to the Heads Dorm. It was his seventh year, and he had claimed the role of Head Boy, working alongside with the Head Girl, who unfortunately was the Mudblood herself, Hermione Granger.

"Dissimilis Compositus" He muttered to the portrait outside of the Head Common Room. As he walked in he found Hermione in the arm chair beside the roaring fire. A book was in her arms and she was staring at it intently, completely oblivious to his presence now in the room. The room was a warm, rich red, but the furniture was dark wood and leather. This suiting both of their likes, his dark cold side, and Hermione's warmth. He looked down beside her chair, and noticed the same letter he had received laying beside her. It was then that he looked up to her face to notice she had been crying before.

"Granger?" Draco asked, moving towards her.

"Go away." She replied, her voice flat, with no emotion what so ever seeping out.

"What is this?" He asked, ignoring her demand as he took another step to stand in front of her. She lifted her head slowly and looked at the letter in his hand before returning her attention to her book, ignoring his pestering.

"There is no way that I'm going to marry you. I would never taint my family's name or blood by marrying a Mudblood, especially you of all mudbloods." He said, his words dripping with as much venom as he could fathom.

At this, Hermione stood up, the top of her head only reaching to his chin, "Listen to me, Ferret..." She started, pushing him away from her, "I don't want to marry you, just as much as you don't want to marry me! Possibly even more!" She yelled, "I don't want to marry a man who has as cold as a heart as Voldemort himself!" She said with a final push against Draco's chest, causing him to topple onto the couch.

He immediately grabbed her without thinking, bringing her down right on top of him.

"Malfoy!" She screeched as she landed on him, her face dangerously close to his.

"Ouch, watch the octave of your scream. That's in my ear, damn." He said, with distaste. He then realized he was in the perfect position to annoy her even more than she currently was. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist slowly, careful not to actually touch her. He didn't want to be touching her more than he already was at the moment by her body on his. Pinning her, he left her no room to get off of him. Now, don't get him wrong. He was just as disgusted by this current position as she was, and he was in no way attracted to her at the moment, but he figured what better way to take out his frustrations than to annoy the very core of his frustration? But, he also was a guy, and he was going to take great advantage of their current position.

Hermione glared, as she tried to maneuver out of his grip. "Let go of me, Malfoy!" She said through gritted teeth. Draco merely flashed a smirk up at her.

"Oh, but Granger… Don't you want to celebrate our 'engagement'?" He asked, his voice dripping with disdain and sarcasm. Hermione made a face of utter disgust before finding her way free and steadying herself on the floor. She stared down at where he still laid on the couch, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"Malfoy, I wouldn't celebrate anything with or about you… Unless of course it was your death. That would call for a celebration." She said spitefully before turning and making her way up the winding stair case and to her room.

Draco watched her leave with astonishment. He was Draco F-ing Malfoy. No one ever talked to him like that. No one. Especially not a lower-class Mudblood as herself. He heard the shower up stairs turn on and a smirk crossed his features. If she hated the idea of marry him as much as he did, he knew the best way of getting under her skin and make her want to leave the wizarding world to live as a muggle would be to bring up the engagement and marriage as much as possible, and pretend that he was actually 'okay' with the entire situation. So, with a deep breath he made his way off the couch and up to the Head Bathroom, which had two adjourning doors to their rooms. Once in the Slytherin colored room, he crossed the room to the door of the bathroom.

He took another deep breath before walking into the bathroom without knocking. He walked to the sink to brush his teeth, his eyes going to her reflection in the mirror.

"Malfoy!" Hermione yelled from the glass shower, covering what she could of herself. Draco smirked, his eyes running up and down her nearly bare reflection. He had to admit, even in his standards Granger was breathtaking, or in his words sexy as hell. If only she wasn't such a knew it all, stupid little Mudblood.

"Yes?" He said, trying to fixate his eyes on his own reflection instead of hers.

"What are you doing in here? Get Out!" She said, her skin turning a bright red under embarrassment. She had never been even slightly naked around a man, and this was the last man she would ever want to see her. She reached for a towel, quickly trying to cover herself. Draco rolled his eyes and dismissed her demand.

"Oh, please. You're my bloody fiancée. I'm going to see everything soon enough." He said, though it mentally killed him to call her his fiancée.

"Would you please stop saying that?!" She said, her tone clearly exasperated as she climbed out of the shower, wrapping the towel around her body. Her honey brown hair began to stick to her body, still dripping wet. Draco turned around, leaning against the sick, his arms folded at his chest.

"Why? It seems… No matter what you say, we're soul mates." He said, biting back the bile that rose in his throat, though his eyes were dancing in amusement at her reaction.

Hermione rolled her eyes, her hands staying firmly at the top of the towel holding it to her, ensuring that it wouldn't fall. "I know what you're doing Malfoy. I'm not daft. I've been working with you all year, I've figured out your tricks." She said, shaking her head, smirking at him, causing him to frown. She wasn't supposed to smirk, that was his thing. "I was a muggle for eleven years of my life; I could survive being a muggle. But, I love being a witch. But you… you would have no idea what to do if you didn't have your magic, and your house elfs doing everything for you." She paused, laughing cynically, "You can't make me join the muggle world." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Draco smirked, though on the inside he was flipping out more than he had when he first read the letter. If she wouldn't go live with her little muggles, there was no way around this marriage. He could have his father say something to the Ministry, but after the war the Malfoy name was not held with power as it was before. Sure, people still respected and were scared of the family, but without the threat of Voldemort there, there wasn't much to the Malfoy name except money and cold hearts.

"Granger… You really think I can't break you?" He asked, keeping his defenses up, his eyes running over her towel clad body again.

"Out." She said, one had releasing hold of her towel to point to the door. Draco would closer, causing Hermione to walk backwards, into the wall where she was pinned between it and Malfoy. His face came close to hers: she could smell a faint fragrance of mint off his breath and a chill ran up her spine. Though, she held her composure and looked him dead in the eye. She had lived through the war and faced a lot worse than what Draco Malfoy could dish out. She could handle him, easily. Though, the voice in her head was wavering more than she would have liked.

"We'll talk about this later." He said, his lips almost touching hers teasingly. He smirked before turning himself around and walking out of the room. Hermione let out the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. She shook her head before walking over to the mirror check her reflection.

"Come on Hermione, you can do this." She told herself, before dressing and casting a drying spell on herself.

Draco walked out of the room, running a hand over his face. That was far too much contact for one day. He hated to even look at her, and being so close to her was disturbing him on so many levels. He knew by the end of this entire ordeal he would end up avada kedavra-ing either himself or her. He took a seat on the couch, flicking his wand at the fire for it to start up again. He looked over at the book Hermione had been reading before. It was still open to the page she had been on. Curiously, he picked it up and read what had her so enthralled before. He smirked; it was about loop holes to ministry laws. After reading the passage and finding out there was no real way out of it, he closed the book and leaned back against the couch. This day had been too exhausting already, and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet. They both had potions in thirty minutes, something he could actually look forward to.

Hermione walked out of her room, dressed in her school robes, her books in tow with her. She gave him a quick glance, before deciding to just ignore him and continue walking. "Where are you going?" He asked, looking up when he heard her footsteps. Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Not that it's any of your concern… I'm going to potions." She said, continuing her path to the door.

"Potions isn't for another half hour." He said, unsure as to why he was still pestering her about it. The sooner she left, the sooner he wouldn't have to deal with her irritating presence.

"Yes, I know. But I'd rather be with Snape right now, than you." She said, before finally making her way out of the room before he could ask anything else. She made her way to the dungeons and took her seat. Front row, dead center.

"Miss. Granger… what are you doing here? Class doesn't start yet." Snape said, walking out of his potions closet and into the room.

Hermione looked up at the tall man, "I'm sorry Professor, I just want to get ahead and get started on my assignment." She said, averting her gaze to the parchment in front of her. Snape eyed her before continuing on his way, he didn't care about whatever was bothering her and he didn't want to know.

Before she knew it, the day was over and she was headed back to her dorm room. She had yet to tell her friends who she was matched with, but she did find out that Ron was paired with Pavarti and Harry was paired with Ginny, of course. Everyone saw that coming. When asked about whom she got, she would change the subject and start a conversation with Dean, who had been sitting beside her during lunch. He, had been paired with Bulstrode, and he wasn't very pleased about it.

Her feet were tired and she was ready to crawl into bed by the time she got up to the common room. She entered, setting her books down on the table by her arm chair. She looked over to the couch were Draco sat, his eyes intent on the fire before him. He had finished his patrols early, and came back to wait for Granger.

"We need to talk, Granger." Draco said, not looking over at her. Hermione sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't want to talk right now, Malfoy. I just want to go to bed and try to forget this day."

Draco gritted his teeth, "Granger, we need to talk." He said, once more, this time looking at her. Instead of fighting, Hermione took a seat; she was in no mood to argue. Though, she was sure this 'talk' would turn into one shortly. Hermione took a deep breath before starting the conversation.

"Malfoy, I don't want to marry you. The very thought makes me want to gag. But, I'm not giving up my magic; I've worked to hard for it all to go down the pot. So, I will do what I have to do. But, this does not mean you have control of me, or can tell me what to do…. We might have to get married. But, I'll always be Hermione Granger." She said, her words running together as she spoke quickly, all in one breath.

"Actually, you'll be Hermione Malfoy." He said, grimacing. Hermione shuddered at the very thought. "But, I do have a few terms…"He said, folding his hands together.

"Terms?" Hermione scoffed, "Please, enlighten me."

"You will take the Malfoy name, and live in the Malfoy Manor. And…" Draco trailed off. Hermione eyed him. She didn't like the idea of living in the manor with him, or his parents. But it was larger than anything she would be able to buy.

"What else?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, I want children…" He said, though the words fell awkwardly out of his mouth. Hermione gaped at him, her eyes wide.

"Malfoy, I want children as well. But to get children…that involves something I don't EVER want to do with you." She said, shaking her head.

"I don't like the idea either, Granger. But the Malfoy name must carry on. And that means I must have an heir." He said, running his hand over his face. Hermione sat in thought, biting her lip.

"Alright." She said, averting her gaze to the fire. "But, you have to be civil to me. No more 'Mudblood' or any other disgraceful name. I won't be a stay at home mom, like your mother. I plan on working at as a healer. And if we do have a kid, I want them to think we actually love each other. There's nothing worse than for a child to grow up with parents who hate each other. We need to get along. I'm not going to love you, but I will be civil towards you if you show me the same respect." She said, and Draco nodded, he knew what she meant. He had grown up with his father and mother rarely getting along unless in public, and he didn't want that for his child.

"Oh, and one more thing." Hermione said, looking back over at him.

"What's that?" He asked, sighing.

"Your house elves. Either you free them, or you pay them. But I refuse to live in a house where house elves are treated as slaves." She said her tone strong and firm. Draco rolled his eyes, such a stupid girl.

"Fine, Granger." He said, leaning back, his arms going behind his head.

"Malfoy, I'm serious!" She paused, frustrated. "I'm giving up a lot. This is our future we're talking about!" She said, causing Draco to eye her, rolling his eyes.

"You don't think I'm giving up anything?! Malfoy's have been purebloods since as long as there have been wizards. By marrying you, I will be giving up tradition. It might not mean much to you, but to my family, our name means everything, Granger." He seethed. Hermione sighed, her head was throbbing.

"I'm going to go to bed; I'll see you in the morning." She said before getting off the couch and stumbling up the stairs to her room. She washed her face quickly before changing and climbing into bed.

The next morning Draco woke to the sound of pecking on his window. "Ugh…" He groaned, rolling out of his bed and walking to the window. He opened it, allowing the grey owl, along with the cool are come into his room. The large owl dropped the letter on his desk before flying back out of the window. He trudged over to his desk and slowly ripped open the letter, his groggy eyes reading the letter.

**Dear Mr. Malfoy, **

** Please bring you and your betrothed to the Great Hall promptly at 8:30 for an important announcement. **

** -Dumbledore**

Draco sighed and looked over at the clock, it was already eight. He walked over to the bathroom and quickly took a shower and brushed his teeth, before casting a quick drying spell and getting dressed. He walked into Hermione rooms and tried to shake her away.

"Granger." He grumbled, hitting the comforter that covered her. "Granger!" He said louder, this time shaking her.

"Bugger off, Malfoy." She said, pulling the pillow over her head.

"Fine, miss the oh so important announcement that Dumbledore is making us attend in fifteen minutes." He said, before walking out of the room, leaving Hermione to herself.

Hermione sighed and sat up, running a hand over her hair. "Great." She murmured, sliding out of bed. Thirteen minutes later she was bouncing down the stairs, to where Draco was waiting in the Common Room.

"So what is this about?" She asked, leading him out of the portrait.

"Don't you think I would have told you if I knew?" He asked, rolling his eyes. He wasn't a morning person, at all. After a few minutes of pointless bickering they made it to the Great Hall, to find it already packed with all the students and their partners. Hermione noticed everyone in pairs, one male, and one female. Madame Pomfrey walked up to Draco and Hermione.

"Hermione, dear... Please go find your match and go stand next to Dumbledore. You do as well please, Mr. Malfoy." She said, before briskly walking away to another pair of students. She evidently didn't know they were paired with each other. They both made their way up to Dumbledore, who gave them a knowing smile before silencing the room.

"As you all know by now, the Ministry has enforced a new marriage law for those of seventeen to thirty-five years of age." He began, the students all silently nodded. "Well, the Ministry is also enforcing the schools to give every student who is arranged to be married a parenting class." Every student stared up at him with wide eyes and mouths agape.

"Now, this is how it's going to work. This will be a four week class. For the first two weeks, the female will go through a magical pregnancy, and for the last two you will be taking care of the baby she was pregnant with. The female will feel all of the symptoms of pregnancy and both of you will have to keep a journal of everything that happens and how you feel about it during the four weeks." Dumbledore said to the silent room, each student to shocked to speak.

Hermione raised her hand hesitantly. "Ah, yes Miss. Granger?" He asked, nodding at her.

"Sir, what will happen to the baby after the four weeks?" She asked, lowering her hand slowly.

"After the four weeks, the baby will disappear." He said, before looking back at the crowd of students. "Anymore questions?" He asked, and once again Hermione slowly raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?" He asked, eying her over his half-moon glasses.

"Well, sir… You mentioned the female being pregnant…" She said slowly.

"Yes..."

"How is it we… become pregnant?" She asked, cautiously.

Dumbledore smiled, "Madam Pomfrey will explain that to you and your betrothed when you go to her office when you are called." He said, turning back to the crowd in search of Madam Pomfrey, and when he received a nod from her he continued. "And, she has requested that the head boy and head girl go first." He said, and gasp broke out among the group of students. Realizing that Hermione and Draco were paired with each other. Hermione ignored the murmurs and stares as she and Draco made their way back into the office, making sure to close the door behind them.

Madam Pomfrey gave them a knowing smile, "I should have known you two would be paired together." She said, with a light shake of her head as she looked over her paper work. Draco and Hermione exchanged confused glances as they sat on top of the designated tables; Draco's table was across the room from Hermione, facing hers. Draco began to mess with his collar and tie, feeling as if he was being strangled by all the news he had received in the past twenty four hours.

"Now, Miss. Granger, you will fell a slight pinch in the naval area…" Madam Pomfrey said and slowly drew a glowing pink circle from Hermione's abdomen with the tip of her wand, lowering it into a potion vial. Madam Pomfrey gave Draco an apologetic smile before, without warning, she pulled a dark blue circle from the area above his crotch and put it in the same vial as before and mixed it together by shaking it.

Draco had a sudden outburst of obscenities as he twitched, his hand going to his crotch. "Bloody hell!" he shouted. He felt as if he had been kicked in the crotch, HARD.

"I'm sorry, dear." The old woman said, giving him another small smile before handing Hermione the vile. "Now, drink this." She said. Hermione took it and quickly swallowed the horrid liquid.

"Ugh." She grimaced, "that's terrible." She said, handing back the empty vial.

"Yes, well I can't change the flavor. " Madam Pomfrey complained as she marked off something on her charts. She then cast a quick spell towards Hermione's abdomen, and a large check appeared on her stomach. The old woman smiled, and wrote something else down in her charts. "Congratulations, you're having a baby." She said, before ushering the two out of the room and calling in the next couple.

Hermione sighed, her hands going to her stomach. "I hate the Ministry." She said, before walking away from Draco. Draco watched her walk away and then quickly followed her.

"Hey!" He called, once he was a few steps behind her. Hermione turned around quickly.

"What?" She asked, in no mood to put up with him today. She took in a better view of him, her eyes tracing his sharp cheek bones and jaw line, the perfect shape of his lips and his flat nose. She found herself staring, and once her eyes reached his she quickly looked away.

"It's Saturday." He said, his eyes watching her with confusion, he noticed how her hair was no longer unruly, but tamed and hung in soft curls to the middle of her back. Her curves visible even through her robes. He could tell her stomach was flat, though her body was the perfect hour glass shape. Her lips were a soft pink, the same color as the blush that appeared on her tan cheeks when she noticed him looking so intently at her. Her long lashed covered her honey brown eyes as she looked down, and then back up at him.

"Yes, I know its Saturday. I do own a calendar." She said, confused by his obvious statement. Draco ran a hand through his loose hair again, all the way to the nape of his neck where his hair fell in short layers.

"Well I was hoping we could get the paper work out of the way that the Ministry sent with the letter." He said.

Hermione sighed, and nodded, "Alright." She said, before following him back up to the Common Room.

This was sure to be a very long day, despite the fact that all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and pretend that this was all one big bad nightmare.

* * *

**An:**

**Well, that's what I'm going to post as the first chapter. That was about sixteen pages of what I wrote in my little notebook. I still have about twenty more wrote up, but I figured this was enough for the first chapter; I didn't want to over load you. (: **

**Well, please review and favorite etc. It gets me so inspired to post when I see that someone is actually reading and liking it. (:**

**-Lindsey**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

**Wow, I got pretty great feedback, and I'm very excited. One review even said that she (he) had read many arranged marriage plots, but considered mine to be one of the good ones. –Smiles- So, this inspired me to go ahead and post the next part of the story. I'm sorry this has taken so long to put up, but after reviewing what I had of this story already written, I didn't like it. So, I had to start from scratch with this chapter, not to mention it's been one of the busiest weeks ever. Graduation is getting closer and closer and everything is really starting to turn into chaos. Well anyway… On to the next chapter, hope you enjoy it! **

**Song on my mind:**

"**In The Summertime" – Emily Elbert. YouTube. Look her up, she's amazing.**

* * *

Five hours, and two fights later Hermione and Draco finished their paper work, sending it off to the ministry with a large white owl. "I don't understand why they needed all of that information. If they ran all of those stupid tests on us anyway, they should know everything about us already." Draco complained, massaging his aching hand.

Hermione eyed him, giving him a slight shrug before responding, "Well, some of the questions were about our future. Where we planned on living, and everything. Though, I do agree… Most of the questions were completely absurd. "She said, falling back onto the couch after closing the window behind the owl.

Draco smirked, biting back a laugh. "You agree with me." He said, shaking his head before continuing, "I think you might just like me after all Granger… You can't resist me." He said.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, planning to stab him with her words. Yet the only real sound she was able to make was a gag, her hand rushing to her mouth holding back the bile. She rushed off to the bathroom, emptying her stomach into the porcelain bowl.

Draco walked to the door, standing as far back as he could, and this was something he wasn't going to get close to. At all. "Granger…?" He asked, slowly confused as to what had just happened. Hermione stood with shaky legs, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"See Malfoy, even the thought of being attracted to you makes me vomit." She said, walking over to the sink, washing her mouth out. With the pregnancy moving so fast, it was evident that morning sickness would occur on the first day of taking the potion. Great. It could only get worse now, right?

Draco rolled his eyes, walking back to the common room to leave her alone. Hermione stared at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, getting rid of the God-awful taste of vomit. But, no matter how much she brushed the taste of the potion she had taken still lingered.

* * *

The day went by quickly, Hermione only throwing up two more times after her first incident, and the third time Draco was polite enough not to comment, as he had each time before. Hermione had been able to avoid him most of the day after this; she enjoyed what she could of her day with her friends, and spent the rest in her hidden corner of the library catching up on some class work. It wasn't until nine at night that she had to face Draco again.

Draco had let Hermione be; knowing if he made one more snide comment at her his favorite appendage would be hexed off. He kept to himself, finishing up on his class work and spending a small amount of time in the Slytherin common room. He didn't feel like spending anytime with Blaise today, knowing he'd have to listen to him gripe about whomever he was paired with. Which, in Draco's mind… There wasn't anyone worse than Hermione Jane Granger.

Hermione waited against the statue of a phoenix, her arms crossed and her foot tapping. "It's five after, where is that stupid git?!" Hermione complained to herself, checking her watch once more. It was then that she looked up and saw the pale blond sauntering towards her. "You're late." She said, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

At this Draco sighed, waving her off, "Shut it Granger, you're simply early." He said, using this as his excuse before leading them down the first corridor that they had to patrol.

Hermione mumbled incoherently before trailing behind him, murmuring "Lumos" and lifting her wand slightly, allowing their path to be lit.

"So, where have you been all day?" Draco asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets as his eyes danced in the dark making sure there were no underclassmen messing around in the corner, as he had done so many times before.

"I don't think it's any of your business what I do with my day, Malfoy." Hermione said, her pacing slightly quickening in attempt to get through their patrols faster so that they may go to bed.

"I disagree." Draco said, looking over at her then returning his gaze to the corridor they had just turned down. Hermione looked up at him, shaking her head.

"Well, Malfoy. This wouldn't be the first time we have ever disagreed." She said, not bothering to ask why he would consider it his business. She knew him well enough to know that, whatever he said was something that was going to get under her skin and make her want to curse him to Timbuktu.

"Hey, you two! Back to your dormitories now, before I take fifty points from your house, and assign you both detentions!" Hermione abruptly said, pointing her wand at two fifth years that seemed to be getting quite frisky in the dark corner. With embarrassed faces, they both walked away quickly in the direction of their dorms. Draco scowled at Hermione, as she kept walking.

"What did you do that for?" He asked, catching up with her in only two long strides.

"What do you mean?" She asked, completely unaware of anything she had done wrong.

Draco motioned to behind him, "Come on, Granger! Can't you just take that stick out of your arse for a moment? They're just having a little fun!" He said, almost in an exasperated manor.

Hermione laughed bitterly, mentally biting her tongue. "Excuse me Malfoy, but I was assigned a job. And when I have something to do, I do it right. No exceptions." She said, storming off before another insult could be thrown her way. 'That stupid little git.' She thought to herself, rounding another corner and heading towards the astrology tower. It was her last place of the night she would check, she would leave the rest to Draco and his snide remarks.

Draco rolled his eyes, smirking as he watched her storm off. He looked around in the dark before quickly striding to catch up to her.

"You know, Granger… I never pegged you as the type that runs from arguments." He stated, glancing at her. Hermione ignored him, keeping her head held high and refusing to speak.

"I mean, after all those war stories about you..." He continued his pace easily matching hers, although she was desperately trying to get away from him.

She stopped mid-step and looked at him. "Malfoy, don't talk to me about the war. Ever." She said, her tone biting and threatening. She picked her pave back up as the visions of what she had lived through resurfaced. She had tried for so long to keep the memories at bay, but it seemed that they all were trying to catch up with her at the moment.

Images of people she knew, had laughed with, and lived with, being killed in front her. The image of taking two lives herself in the process of saving two others. The gory images flashed with each step she took, until she made it to the tower and leaned out the edge, slowly catching her breath and regaining the strength to fight off the memories once more.

"Granger" Malfoy stated, leaning up against the railing, willing her to speak.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" She asked, lifting her head from its current position in her hands.

Draco smirked, "The ministry says I can't." He teased, lightheartedly. Hermione rolled her eyes, and looked out over the black lake, her anxiety dulling down.

"Listen, I'm sorry I exploded on you back there. It's just, it's a touchy subject for me, and seeing as your side caused a lot of the heartache… You're really the last person I ever want to talk to about it." She explained, her tone still slightly hard.

Draco sighed, leaning his forearms against the balcony edge and looking out at the same view as she, "Well I can't say it was all peaches and cream for our side either, Granger."

Hermione looked over at him slowly, "Let's just not talk about it, please." She asked, making a note to soften her tone. Draco nodded, staying quiet for the next ten minutes as they let their memories and past swirl around them in the dark silence.

"Come on, let's get back." Hermione finally said, breaking the silence as she turned away from the lake and started walking back towards their common room. Draco once again shoved his hands in his pockets and walked along beside her in silence. He could see she was hurting; that he had made a mistake for bringing it up, and as disturbing as it was to him he had the odd urge to reach for her hand, just to comfort her. He held it back, keeping his hands safely in his pockets where they wouldn't roam to her. Hermione listened to their footsteps as they walked, seeming to have automatically gone in sync with each other. This made her choke back a small laugh. This stupid 'connection' was going to drive her crazy until… well, her death, apparently.

They didn't speak to one another till they were back at the common room, and Hermione finally spoke up, though of course it was on the topic of school. "We need to write our journal entries tonight. Don't forget. "She said, once they had walked in and were walking up their own respectable winding stair case.

"Alright. Goodnight, Granger." Draco said with a slight nod of his head before entering his room.

After she showered, and dressed for bed Hermione made her way to her bed, where he journal sat. After making herself comfortable she picked it up, opening the fresh binding and grabbing her quill and began writing.

_ September 18__th__, Day 1._

_ Today was the first day of the pregnancy and my first look at my future. I understand why the ministry thinks this is a good idea, but I think they might have a fault in their system. For who would ever pair Malfoy and I together? A fool, that's who. But I must admit that I am slightly excited to see the outcome of this class. Teenage Pregnancy has been on the rise for years, and it's nice to see the ministry is taking an interest in it. Though, their reasons are far different, their reasons are because they want us to get practice on being parents and dealing with pregnancy. Anyways, day one went fine; I was taken aback by how fast this process is going, because I must have emptied my stomach at least four times today. Malfoy and I are still ready to tear out each other's throats. I am unable to believe that he and I will ever be able to agree on anything. I am interested in seeing what else the ministry has in store for us, guess we'll just have to see on day two. _

_ Hermione J. Granger._

With that, Hermione closed her journal and sat it beside her on the table before turning out the light and wishing the world a goodnight.

* * *

After hearing Hermione step out of the shower, Draco quickly went and took his, letting the water wash away all of the stress of the day. Twenty minutes later, he stepped out, and dressed before walking back into his room where he took a spot at his desk and began to write for the journal. Opening the new binding, and pulling out his quill, he started the first page as Hermione had.

_**September 18**__**th**__**, Day 1**_

_** Well, this is stupid. Journals are stupid. I don't need to write about my feelings and how my day went. I know what happened; I don't need to write it down. But, in order to keep my marks up and to keep the hormonal Mudblood happy I have to do this. Well, today a crazy old hag pointed a wand at my crotch, and I'm pretty sure she cast a spell so that an invisible futball player kicked me in the nuts. Then, she made Granger drink whatever she had mixed in the potion, and there you go. She's pregnant. That's not exactly how I know babies being made. Uhm. I most likely shouldn't write sexual things in this journal, seeing as you (my professor) will be reading this. But oh well, if you don't like it you shouldn't have asked me to write in this bloody thing. Anyway, this is it. She puked, we fought, we did our patrols, and we fought again… That's how my day went. All we do is fight, the very sight of her sickens me. Not because she is unattractive, I wouldn't be a sane male if I thought she was unattractive. It's just HER. Her very being is quite pestering and annoying. The ministry has really been shot to hell. They're all lunatics. **_

_** Draco Malfoy**_

He closed his journal and pushed it aside. He ran a hand through his damp hair before pulling out a piece of parchment. It was time to tell his parents what has been going on. Though, he was sure they knew about the new law by now.

_**Dear Father, **_

_** Well, as you probably already know, the Ministry has enforced a new law and I have fallen victim to it. An arranged marriage law. And father, you will never believe who those insolent pricks arranged me with. Hermione Jane Granger. Mudblood. Harry Potter's best bloody friend. Oh, and she is also the Head Girl. Another charming discovery I made after arriving at school. And, the ministry is forcing us to take a new class. A class in which the female has to be pregnant for two weeks, and we raise the child for two more weeks afterward. This is pure hell. I expect you to have many questions, as do I. Send mother my love, and I expect to hear from the both of you in the morning. **_

_** Draco**_

He sent the letter off with his magnificent black owl, before climbing into bed and quickly letting sleep succumb him.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione was the first to wake, as usual, though this time it was with the urgent need to throw up, once again. After brushing her teeth she washed her face and got dressed for the day. She knew she needed to tell her parents, but she wasn't quite she how she was supposed to tell them. "Hey Mom, I'm being forced to marry the one guy who has tried to make my life miserable since I was eleven! Oh, and I'm going through a magical pregnancy and will be raising your grandchild for two weeks before it magically disappears. Alright, gotta go!" She laughed at the thought, walking out of her room and into the common room, where the House Elves has already set out their breakfast. That was just one of the perks of being a Head, you didn't have to go down to the Great Hall to eat all the time. She smiled at the spread and made a mental note to visit the kitchen and thank the elvess for everything.

Draco emerged from his room minutes later, dressed in muggle clothes and made his way to the table where she was sitting. "So, I got a letter from my parents this morning." He stated, making his plate.

"Good morning to you, as well." Hermione sad curtly. Draco smirked, ignoring her as he took his seat.

"They want us to come to dinner tonight at the Manor." He said, raising a bite of egg to his mouth.

"You know very well we can't leave school grounds." Hermione said, waving off his statement.

"I assure you, Dumbledore will allow this. Just be ready to floo by five." He said, another bite going to his throat.

"And what about my parents, they need to know as well." She said, "Maybe they wanted us to have dinner with them tonight." She said, though she hadn't even spoken to them yet. Draco groaned, she always had to make this more trouble than they were.

"We'll talk to your parents next weekend, mine are first." He said, trying to end the conversation so they he could eat his breakfast in peace.

"Malfoy, I'll have you know that my parents are just as important as yours when it comes to this situation." She said, stabbing her sausage.

"I never said they weren't Granger. Now, can you stop trying to pick a fight and just let me eat?" He said, his tone almost pleading.

"Fine." She mumbled, taking a bite of the mutilated sausage.

-----------------

Draco had gotten Dumbledore's approval and was ready by 4:45, sitting her Hermione's room at the edge of her bed as she went through her wardrobe for something appropriate to wear. "It has to be nice, even regular diners at my house call for formal wear." He said, tapping his hand on his knee idly. Hermione pulled out a small black dress that Ginny had talked her into getting over the summer. It was strapless, formal and reached just above her knee and hung loosely around her, but tight enough to see her curvature.

"That will be fine." He said, before she disappeared into the bathroom where she quickly shed her clothes and dressed, slipping on black heels and casting a quick spell on her hair to make it lay in soft curls. She walked out of the bathroom, and waited for his skeptical approval.

Though Draco wouldn't dare tell her, Hermione looked absolutely breathtaking. The dress hung on her body just right, and showed off her legs like no other dress ever could. "That's very nice." He said, though he tried to make it as much as a compliment as he could… But complimenting was hard for him, unless of course he was complimenting himself.

"Alright, follow after me." He said, and stepped into the common room fireplace with a small amount of floo. "Malfoy Manor." He said, his voice clear. In a burst of green flame, Hermione was alone. She took a deep settling breath before walking into the fireplace and repeating what Draco had.

She would have fallen on her landing if Draco hadn't reached out and caught her, expecting her to fall on her landing. "Thank you." She said, meeting his eyes as she unwound herself from his arms and brushed off the soot.

"Mister Malfoy…?" A squeaky voice said quietly. Hermione looked down and a small, frail house elf was in front of them.

"Yes?" Draco asked, standing a little taller.

"Master and Mistress Malfoy are waiting for you in the Dining Room, Sir." He said, and Draco nodded.

"Thank you." Hermione said sweetly, eying Draco for not having the proper etiquette.

"Yes, uhm, Thank you." Draco said, catching her glare. The house elf smiled before disappearing with a 'pop'.

"Take my arm. My mother will never forgive me if I bring a girl into this house and don't escort her decently. " He muttered. Hermione sighed and laced her arm through his and let him lead her through the marvelous house. She felt as if they could have fit the whole Hogwarts in the Entrance Hall of the Manor. It was far too large for just a couple to live here. And to her surprise, instead of everything being dark and musky. It was light, marvelous white marble floor and stair cases. It almost felt like a house of good, rather than evil. If only she was unaware of the evil that actually did reside here. Draco led her into the Dining Room where his parents were standing, waiting for them.

"Ah Draco!" His mother said happily, quickly pulling him into a hug, as his father stood to the side and eyed Hermione skeptically. Hermione looked at the way Draco hugged his mother closely, she had never seen him actually show affection, let alone let anyone touch him like that.

"And this must be Miss. Hermione Granger." Narcissa said, shaking Hermione's hand politely.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione said, with a small smile.

"Draco." His father said, shaking his hand, he nodded at Hermione, "Miss. Granger." He said.

"Mr. Malfoy." She replied. The room held and awkward silence for a moment, before Narcissa insisted that everyone take a seat.

Draco pulled out Hermione's chair for her, ushering her into it before taking a seat next to her. "Why are you being so nice all of the sudden?" She asked in a whisper as she placed her napkin on her lap.

"I'm expected to be a gentleman at home, don't argue it." He said quietly, looking up from his lap and over at his parents. "Well… Hermione's pregnant." He said, trying to break the ice. Hermione nearly spat out the water she had just taken a sip of, not just because of what he had said, but also because he had used her first name. His parents, though they had clearly read his letter nearly dropped their forks as they gaped at their son.

Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's for school, I'm only magically pregnant." She corrected, glaring at Draco who had a smug smirk on his face for causing her to be uncomfortable. Narcissa nodded, before speaking.

"Well, seeing as we have talked to the ministry, and there is not real way to get out of this. We will need to announce your engagement to the public." She said, Mrs. Malfoy was all about keeping up appearances and she knew a nice party where they announced it would be the social highlight of the season. Who would even suspect a Malfoy marrying a mud.. Well, a muggle-born witch?

"I'm pretty sure everyone at Hogwarts knows by now…"Hermione said, before taking a small bite of her meal.

Draco sighed, "She means, basically to tell it to the whole of wizarding world." He said, almost annoyed that she didn't know.

"Oh." Hermione responded, that's a whole lot of people.

"Yes, I think we should announce the engagement at our annual Christmas ball. And though I do know you two don't get along very well, I would like you to show that you are actually happy about the engagement at the party. I only have a little less than three months to plan. And…" Narcissa trailed off, her mind going into planning mode.

Lucious was quite for most of the evening, only commenting when necessary. But by the end of the night, when they all said goodbye, surprisingly enough Narcissa hugged Hermione and Lucious shook her hand. "It's been a pleasant evening Miss. Granger, and I'm sure we'll be seeing you again, soon." Lucious said, taking a step back away from her.

"Thank you for having me." She said, taking Draco's arm once more when he held it out for her.

"Let's get back." He said, leading her back to the fireplace where they flooed to their common room.

"Well, that's a side of you I have never seen before." Hermione said, straightening her dress after they arrived. Draco was already loosening his tie as she spoke.

"There are a lot of sides you haven't seen of me before." He said, almost suggestively. Hermione grimaced.

"I just meant, it was nice to see that you do actually have the capability to be a gentleman. And I like the fact that you hold your mother with so much respect." She said, sitting down on the love seat, crossing her legs.

"You don't talk to your mother like that?" He asked, skeptically.

"Of course I do, though we're a little less formal about it. I just didn't expect you to." She explained, watching him.

"Well, I'm going to go take a shower, and write in that insolent journal. Then I'm going to bed. Goodnight." He said, walking past the couch.

"Goodnight, and Draco… Thanks for being so nice today. It was nice not to fight as much and to actually be treated like a human." She said.

Draco nodded, "Goodnight, Hermione." He said and disappeared up the stair case.

Hermione watched him go with a small smile. And in the back of her mind, in the deepest most untouched dark depths of her subconscious, she knew that maybe there was hope for him after all.

* * *

**Well there you go. (:**

**I hope you liked it, I'll start writing on the next chapter tomorrow or later tonight. I'm on spring break now, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sometime within the week.**

**Love, **

**Lindsey.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So here's chapter three.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After saying goodnight, they each went up to their respectable beds that night, reflecting on the day's events and what had carried them into the night. Sitting down at his desk for the second night in a row, Draco began to write.

_** September 19**__**th**__** Day 2.**_

_** She formally met my parents tonight. It went better than I expected, and I think she was genuinely surprised with how my family addressed her. My father kept his distance, letting himself warm up to her, I assume. Since the war, my parents have been very cautious with their actions. Dinner was enjoyable enough, and I think my mother is pleased just to have another reason for the spotlight to be on our family once more. Granger acted civil and well trained, as if she was a pure blood herself, and though I would never admit this to her, it surprised me. Anyways, I've been writing about a topic that isn't even what I'm supposed to be writing about. I'm supposed to be writing about the pregnancy and my relationship with Granger. Pregnancy is… well, pregnant. I assume. I only heard her throw up once today, so I believe that is an improvement. As far as Granger's and mine relationship, we only bickered on occasion when she was being a pain the arse. But other than that, we're still as we always have been. Nothing more, nothing less.**_

_** Draco.**_

Draco closed the black book and laid it aside before blowing out his desk candle and going to bed. He lay awake for quite some while, his mind tracing back to the conversations that were shared at the dinner table, his mother's genuine smile. He believed she was surprised with Hermione as well as he was. His father, he wasn't quite sure about. But he believed the day's events showed growth towards their future. And with that last thought he drifted off.

* * *

Hermione lay in bed, quill at her mouth as she read her passage from the previous night. She dabbed her quill in the ink beside her before turning to the next page and beginning to write once more.

_ September 19__th__ Day 2._

_ I woke up early this morning, throwing up everything I had eaten the previous day. This pregnancy nonsense is really making me re-think the deal I made with Malfoy. I promised him an heir. But going through this constant nausea is not worth letting the Malfoy name carry on. At least not at this moment, where I'm eating what I can of crackers to calm my stomach. I only threw up once today, but my stomach has been making waves nonstop since. So, I do believe, according to my research, this pregnancy is coming along just as it should. That is, if it were a normal pregnancy. I met Malfoy's parents tonight. Well, I'd met them before, but this time I met them formally, at their house. Which isn't exactly a house. It's more of three large castles grouped together into one home. It's amazing. Though, all the empty space would make me said. It has no comfy-nes to it, it's bright and marvelous. But at the same time is cold and sad. I guess I'm just far more of a simplistic person than the Malfoy's. A small quaint home with just enough room for four would be fine with me. But, another part of Malfoy's deal… We are to live in the Manor after graduation. I'll just have to make it my own as much as I can. I was surprised at Malfoy tonight; he was such a gentleman and treated me as if I wasn't someone who he thought was beneath him. Sure, we fought during the day. But once we arrived at his house I was astonished at how he acted towards me, especially when his mother was around. Dare I say it, but Mrs. Malfoy should come around more often._

_ Hermione._

With that, Hermione closed the book and placed it in the draw of her night stand before mumbling a quick darkening spell and falling quickly to sleep.

----------------

Draco stretched in bed, his eyes opening before moving up to the clock on the other side of the room above his large fire place. He had two hours till class, which was enough time to fall asleep again for half an hour before taking his shower. He pulled the covers around his body tighter, closing his eyes once more. Then, the water turned on in the shower, the sound causing him to groan.

"Why doesn't she ever just sleep in?!" He muttered into his pillow which he placed over his head. Though he tried his hardest to block out the sound of the shower, nothing would work, so with a loud grunt he climbed out of bed and got dressed. He knew she would be a while, so he grabbed what he needed and headed out of his room and out of their common room. He made his way to the prefect's bathroom, where he showered quickly, and dressed. When he arrived back at the common room Hermione was dressed, and sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and eating her breakfast.

She looked up at the sound of his footsteps, "Where have you been?" She asked, confused. She had been expecting him to walk down from his room any minute, not saunter into the common room from the portrait.

"Well, after you woke me up with your annoyingly early shower, I left to shower in the Prefect's bathroom. " He said, sitting down and grabbing himself a piece of toast.

Hermione smirked, "I like early showers, and they get me ready for the day." She defended, pouring herself a glass of juice.

"Yeah? Well an extra half hour of sleep helps me feel well rested for the day." He shot back, taking the juice from her to pour himself a glass.

"Calm down, Malfoy." She said, rolling her eyes. She was sure the banter was harmless, but she wasn't awake enough to really want to go at it. Draco took the prophet she had abandoned on the table and began to read through the sports section.

"Oh, looks like your old lover boy is going to the world cup again." He said, smirking at her over the paper.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I know, he wrote me about it last week." She admitted, with a small shrug.

"You still talk to that giant git?" Draco asked, almost wanting to laugh.

"Well, yes. Viktor is a good friend of mine. Just because Rita Skeeter wrote about us 'dating' doesn't mean it was true. We just went to the Yule Ball together." She said, unsure as to why she was actually explaining herself to him. Draco sneered, his nose going back behind the paper once more.

"Oh, well looks like Rita is up to it again, she says you two are arranged to be married." He said, laughing quietly to himself as he read over the article. "It says she got the information from someone in the ministry who was in charge of the matches. It says neither of you could be contacted, but she believes that this engagement is sure to spout drama from former flame Harry Potter." He quoted.

Hermione looked up from her breakfast in disbelief, she had read over most of the paper and had not come across that. In fact, all she had seen of Viktor was the announcement that he would be at the Quidditch World Cup once again. "Give me that." Hermione said, her voice sounding as if it was the slightest bit hopeful. Draco eyed her, but kept the paper to himself.

"Malfoy, give it to me." She demanded once more.

She wasn't exactly hopeful, but part of her wanted to believe that the ministry had messed up both her and Draco's papers and she was actually arranged to marry Viktor, though this was highly unlikely. Rita had most likely decided that with her lack of resources, she could make it all up- reminiscing from the stories she had made up three years ago about Hermione and Viktor. Hermione held no feelings for Viktor and considered him quite an undesirable man, but any man could be considered better than Malfoy, if you really wanted him to be. The problem with Viktor was that he tried to be physically intimate at inappropriate times and didn't speak much. He carried a scarce amount of intellect on him and couldn't uphold a decent conversation even if he tried. Sure, he was a nice guy, but he didn't fall into the standards of Hermione Granger. Yet, neither did Draco Malfoy. Draco was rude and cared for no one else but himself. He looked down on others and belittled anyone who he considered a lower class of specimen than himself. He was a ferret. But, she did give him the little credit he deserved. Draco was smart, the second in their class, under herself. And even being known as the Slytherin Sex God, she had never seen him display any kind of affection towards any person in all seven years of their acquaintance. He was nice looking, if you looked past his pathetic excuse for a personality that is. He was physically appealing; years of Quidditch had obviously adapted his body for the sport. But still, he was Draco Malfoy and if there was any shred of hope that she was in fact supposed to be arranged to marry someone else, she was going to cling to that hope like a life boat.

"I was just kidding; try not to get your knickers too wet." Draco said, smirking as he held the paper away from her. Oh, she forgot to add another flaw of Draco Malfoy – his insistent innuendos.

Hermione grimaced, "You're repulsing, Malfoy." Draco smirked once more, taking a sip of his juice; he set the paper aside no longer interested.

"I've heard a lot of things from women, but never that I was repulsing. I've heard 'Oh Draco, you're just so sexy', 'Oh Draco, I want you', 'Please Draco, I want to have your babies. You're the most amazing man in the world.'" He said, his voice high as he quoted the women from his past.

Hermione snorted back a laugh, "Oh please, you may have heard the first two, but I highly doubt the second. You were just trying to rub your own ego." She said, shaking her head.

"Oh, so you agree I'm sexy and that you want me." Draco leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing across his chest, covering his Head Boy badge.

"Only in your dreams." She retorted, standing up and grabbing her bag. "Now come on, we have parenting class in five minutes." She said, passing his seat and walking to the portrait where she began to push it open.

Draco sighed, taking one last swig of his juice before standing up and grabbing his own bag and pushing past her and out the portrait. Hermione rolled her eyes before following behind him and going to the great hall, were the parenting classes were currently being held. Once arriving they took a seat in the front, due to Hermione's insistent complaints that she could not, under any circumstances sit in the back of the room. Just to make her shut up, Draco obliged.

Hermione looked over and Harry and Ginny had taken residence of the table next to hers. "Good morning, you two." She said, putting on a bright smile.

"Hermione!" Harry said, his smile growing, though faltering when he looked at the blonde next to her. "Malfoy." He said shortly with a curt not.

"Potter." Malfoy replied, not even bothering to look up from the parchment in front of him. Hermione rolled her eyes, turning her back to Draco and fully facing Harry.

"Congratulations, I'm so happy you got matched with Ginny." Hermione said. Harry reached over to Ginny, squeezing her hand in his own.

"Thank you. And you… with Malfoy." Harry said, quite uncertain as to how to address the subject. Hermione grimaced, but before she could speak Dumbledore stepped up to the podium and began to speak.

"Good morning, Students. On each of your desk you will find a syllabus for this year. This includes all of the subjects and activities we will be participating in. As you may notice, the first one on the list is 'Prenatal Care'. Today we will be discussing how to take care of your baby before it has been born, and how the father can help." As Dumbledore spoke, all eyes were on the parchment before them, reading over their required task.

Dumbledore spent the next hour with the help of Madam Pomfrey explaining the importance of prenatal care, going through the stages of pregnancy and what to expect with each month. Draco zoned out most of the lesson, considering the fact that this wasn't a core class that he was actually going to need to advance himself in life. Well, other than with children, of course. Hermione on the other hand was listening quite intently; she found all of this information enthralling. She took her notes, trying her best to ignore that the fact that Draco wasn't taking his part in this. After class she closed her book harshly, shoving it into her bag.

"What's your problem now, Granger?" Malfoy asked, standing up, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"You are." She said as she stood, doing the same with her bag, leading them out of the class.

"What have I done to upset you, now? I haven't spoken two words to you since we were in there." He said, following her to Potions, their next class.

"You are my partner in that class and you are not taking your part. You were supposed to be taking notes and actually showing an interest." She said, moving down the staircase with impressive speed.

"I'm sure you took detailed enough notes for the both of us." He retorted.

Hermione looked over her shoulder and gave him a cold glare, not answering him as she walked into the class room. She took her usual seat in the front and left Draco to sit in the back with his idiot friends.

Hermione took a calming breath as Ron took his seat next to her. She wasn't quite sure why she had gotten so mad at Draco for something that was expected for him to do. She had no delusions that he was actually going to participate and be helpful, but it still infuriated her that he wasn't taking this class seriously.

"'Mione… You're turning red." Ron said, quite uneasily. Hermione huffed, pulling out her quill and book.

"Sorry, Malfoy irritated me." She said, not wanting to give out any more details.

"Yeah. I heard about you two." Ron said, laughing.

Hermione shot a glare at him, "I don't know what you're laughing at, but I advise you to stop. Nothing about this situation is humorous." She said, pointing her quill at him.

Ron continued to laugh, trying hard to muffle it. "Hermione… it's you and Malfoy. Everything about it is hilarious." He retorted, trying hard to calm himself before she actually caused him physical pain.

"Yeah? Well Pavarti is a prize, I tell you." Hermione shot back, though she instantly regretted her words. She wasn't one to speak badly about a person behind their back.

Ron frowned, "You have a point."

Professor Snape walked into the class room, his long robe flowing behind him as he walked past each desk."Today we will be discussing worm root and its effect on a person." He said, pointing his wand at the board, where a list of notes appeared that they were expected to write down quickly before he went onto the next thing.

Draco looked up at the front of the class were Hermione was sitting next to Weasel, glaring at the back of her head.

"So, Granger?" Blaise said, breaking their silence.

"So, Pansy?" Draco said, causing Blaise to grimace.

"Yes." They both said at the same time, their quills beginning to move as they wrote down the notes.

"So, how is little-miss-know-it-all- Granger?" Blaise asked, looking down at his parchment, then back to the board.

"A pain in my arse. And Pansy?" Draco replied, placing his quill back down once he was done.

"Oh she's thrilled about this engagement. She's been hanging on me ever since we got our letters. Honestly, she hasn't let me out of her sight. It's been infuriating." Blaise said, his quill now resting against the dark desk.

Draco laughed quietly, "Granger and I have had our differences over the past few days, but I can honestly say it isn't going as bad as I figured it would. I still find her insanely insufferable most of the time. But she's decent enough, and she's the only person I've ever met that actually calls me on my crap." He said, shrugging, unsure as to why he was saying this aloud.

Blaise smirked, Malfoy was going to fall for that girl and there wasn't a force on Earth that would be able to stop it.

* * *

That night Hermione and Draco sat on the couch by the fire, the sun had long been down and both of them were having a hard time keeping their eyes open. They had spent most of the evening fighting, Draco saying he had done nothing wrong and that Hermione was just being a hormonal witch, which was true, but in no way would Hermione ever give him the satisfaction of being right. She pleaded her case, saying that this was a two part project and he better start doing his part… yada, yada, yada. Draco went against it, saying he was doing just fine and that he had been writing in his journal the past two nights as proof. The fighting had just died down, and they sat on the couch putting as much distance in between them as they possibly could.

"I just don't understand why you have to go against everything I say." Hermione grumbled, glaring over at him.

"You're one to talk!" He shot back, shaking his head. "I say the sky is gray you say it's blue. I say Slytherin's are the best, you say it's Gryffindor's. We don't agree on a damn thing!" His voice raising as he spoke.

"Well maybe if you would think before you speak sometimes instead of spouting out the stupid things you say, maybe we wouldn't fight as much." Crossing her arms and looking into the fire. "We've been fighting all night. We're fighting ABOUT fighting. I'm just going to go upstairs, try to forget about this fight so that I'm not even madder at you in the morning and write in my journal about how bad I want to hex you. Goodnight." Hermione added, standing up and walking away from him.

'That stupid little git, I swear….' Her thoughts raged with each step she took up to her room. There was no way she was going to make it through a life time with this man.

Azkaban was looking awfully nice right about now.

_ September 20__th__ Day 3._

_ That stupid little insufferable git. I'm going to hex him. I'm going to send him off to some foreign place where he can never find his way back. How am I supposed to marry him if he's gone missing? We fought almost all day today. Partially because I didn't want to admit I was being a little over the top, but he should have done his work! I'm not the only one in the partnership. Git. I hate him. He makes me just want to… Ugh! Opps, sorry. I'm getting ink splotches all over this page from pressing too hard. Anyway, the pregnancy is fine, I believe. I didn't throw up today. Slightly nauseous, but nothing else. I need some sleep. He gave me a headache. _

_ Hermione_

_----------------------------  
_

Draco watched her go with a huff, he had never met someone so infuriating. The more time he spent with her the more he realized he was wrong in potions today. Hermione is much worse than he gave her credit for. He sat there for another few minutes, not wanting to get up. He could hear her stomping about up stairs, trying to make a show of it. Or possibly it was just his imagination stimulating the fight further. Draco pointed his wand at the fire, causing it to go out into embers as he stood. Making his way to his room he listened for any sound of Hermione's anger. None. It was silent. He frowned, entering his room and falling back on his bed, journal in hand. Moments later, he began to write.

_** September 20**__**th**__** Day 3.**_

_** We spent most of the entire day fighting. In fact, at one point we were even fighting about fighting. I'm not too sure what the ministry was thinking when they decided that Granger and I were prefect matches. I've never met someone who constantly goes against me. I'm used to everyone giving me what I want and getting out of my way. Hermione doesn't seem to want to comply with how everyone else is. She goes up against everything. She calls me out, and challenges me more than any person I have ever met. I just makes me want to. Ugh. Anyway, the pregnancy is fine. I think. I don't know anything about this crap. She still looks the same, and I didn't hear her throw up today. So, I guess that's good.**_

_** Draco**_

_**------------------**_

The week flew by quickly, fighting coming in waves between the days. Some days were better than most, others they were at the wits end with each other. Saturday came, the day Hermione had planned to visit her parents. She had written a letter to them earlier in the week to alert them of her dropping by with a guest to share some news with the both of them. They responded with delightfulness in their writing, stating that they couldn't wait to see her again.

Hermione stood in front of her mirror in the bathroom; she was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a nice green tank-top under a black, light, coverall. She was currently upset by the fact that she had to magically change her pants size to be two sizes larger than her original. Her stomach held a medium sized bulge that was hard to hide with her slender body. According to her calculations she was about four and a half months along at this point, and she was really starting to show it. This meant her baby had finger nails and could suck his or her thumb and make facial expressions, according to what Dumbledore had said yesterday during class. She sighed, running a hand through her hair before walking through the bathroom and into Draco's room, not bothering to knock. She looked at him, and died laughing.

"What?" Draco asked, buttoning his dress robes. He was dressed as if he was about to attend a great, glamorous ball.

"Malfoy, what are you wearing?" She asked, calming her laughter down.

"Well, we're going to see your parents. I figured this was a formal type meeting." He explained, now rethinking his assumption. Hermione shook her head and gestured towards her average clothes.

"Here, I'll find you something." She said, going to his wardrobe, ignoring his complaints about her touching his clothes. She frowned; most of his clothes were all dark and black. She pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and one of his green button down shirts.

"Here." She said, handing him her selection. Though it was a simple outfit that Draco didn't seem to mind to much, he shook his head.

"We are not being a matching couple." He said, refusing to take it from her.

"Malfoy, we aren't a couple. Just put this on so we can go. My parents are expecting us soon." She said, placing his clothes on the bed and walking out of the room and back into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth once more, making sure they were clean enough for her parents. With them both being dentist, the first thing they looked at when meeting someone was their teeth.

"Make sure you brush your teeth again!" Hermione called from the bathroom, as Draco dressed.

Draco ran his tongue over his teeth, than checked his breath. They seemed clean. He shrugged, and put on his clothes, walking to the bathroom where he quickly ran his hands through his hair and brushed his teeth once more.

Hermione waited in the common room, tapping her foot as she normally did when she was ready to go. "Malfoy!" She called, getting impatient.

"Would you calm down please, I would have been down here sooner if you didn't make me brush my already clean teeth again." He muttered, climbing down the stairs to where she waited.

"My parents are dentist, I promise you they will look at your teeth the moment they meet you." She said. Draco frowned, and started to enter the fire place.

"Malfoy... where are you going?" Hermione asked, confused.

"…To your parents house." He said, his voice bored.

"Draco, my parents are muggles. Their house isn't connected to the floo system." She said, and looked down at the book on the desk.

She had arranged it to be a port key to the alley behind her parent's neighborhood.

"Oh, well of course." He said, climbing back out. She took hold of the book, motioning for him to do the same and in seconds there was a strong pinch at their naval and they were landing on the dark street. Draco fell, and Hermione landed gracefully, catching herself before she could fall. Draco huffed and stood up, brushing the dirt off of him. Hermione giggled quietly, leading him down the alley.

"Draco… I need one more favor from you." She said, putting a hand on his arm to stop him from walking further.

"What is it?" He asked, looking down at her hand. It was an unspoken rule that they had that they don't touch if not necessary.

"Well, my parents already worry about me far too much when it comes to the wizarding world. I plan on telling them about the law. But, I would like them to think that we are happy with this, even in love. I don't want to cause them any more stress. They can't do anything about this, so it would be unnecessary." Her eyes were pleading as she spoke.

Draco said nothing, only nodded.

"Thank you." Was all she said before she led him up the front porch steps and knocked at the door. Looking down, she took his hand in hers giving him a soft smile right as her parents answered the door.

"'Mione!" Her mother said, pulling her into a hug but instantly pulled back when she felt the bulge on her daughter's abdomen. Hermione ignored her mother's glances as she gave her father a hug, his reaction the same as hers.

"Mom, Dad, this is Draco Malfoy." Hermione said, introducing them. "Draco, this is my mother, Susan and my father Henry." Draco shook both of their hands before they invited them into the house. Hermione's mother's eyes were glued to Hermione, waiting for Hermione to explain why she looked pregnant.

"Well, diner will be served shortly, would you two like to take a seat… and we can catch up." Susan said, giving Hermione a pointed look.

Hermione nodded and led Draco to the love seat just big enough for two to sit comfortably. There house was decorated in dark browns and whites, it was neat and orderly. Draco could see where Hermione got it from. Draco awkwardly put his arm over the back of the couch behind Hermione, trying his best to make them look like a couple without too much touching. Hermione sighed, watching her parents sit, worry sketched into their faces.

"Okay, stop staring. I'm not really pregnant." Hermione said, and her mother breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then how do you explain that?" Henry asked, pointing at her.

"Well, we have to take a parenting class this year, and part of the class is I am to spend two weeks pregnant and the other two weeks raising the baby. It's like a project." She explained. Her parents only nodded, they didn't ask too much when it came to magic.

"Why are they making you take this class?" Susan asked, crossing her legs.

Draco spoke up this time, since Hermione had handled the last issue."Well, the ministry of magic has enforced a new law. It's a marriage law. They use magic to pick out who your exact soul mate is and send you a letter saying you are arranged to marry them. There is no way to get out of it without being sent to prison and leaving the wizarding world forever." He paused, allowing this information to sink in with her parents. "Hermione and I have been arranged to be married." He said, Hermione's hand going to his knee and resting there. Draco wanted to laugh, though her touch had an effect on him that he didn't want to admit to. But as far as PDA went, she was a very simple girl.

"So.. You're getting married?" Henry asked, his wife still in shock beside him.

"Not until after graduation." Hermione said, biting her lip.

There was an awkward silence as her parents continued to stare at the pair, unsure as to what to make of the whole situation.

"There is no ring on your finger." Susan observed, speaking for the first time since Draco spoke. Hermione looked down at her hand on Draco's knee, she hadn't thought about a ring

. Draco once again spoke up, "We're not announcing our engagement till my parent's Christmas Ball, which you will be invited to of course. So, we're withholding the ring until then." Draco explained, looking down at Hermione.

Hermione mouthed a small 'thank you', and Draco only nodded.

"Well, I'm famished. We'll discuss this more over dinner?" Henry said, standing up along with his wife, leading all four into the slightly large kitchen. Once all plates were made, they took a seat and their conversation ensued.

"So, Draco… If you are to be a part of this family, I'd like to know a little bit more about you." Henry said, taking a bite of the meatloaf. Draco cleared his throat, taking a second to arrange his thoughts.

"Well, what would you like to know?" He asked, and Hermione snorted back a laugh. To think, Draco being shy about talking about himself? Ironic. Draco bumped his knee against hers under the table, telling her to shut up.

"Well, how are you in school. What's your family life like?" Susan pressed, fishing for any detail she could get of the new stranger.

"Well, I attend Hogwarts with Hermione. I'm Head Boy, and I rank the second highest in our class, right under Hermione." He said, Hermione could tell that one little fact bugged him more than he would ever let anyone know. A Mudblood being smarter than him? No way. Hermione snorted back another laugh, covering it with a cough.

"Are you alright, dear?" Susan asked, taking her attention off of Draco.

"Oh, yes ma'am. I just swallowed wrong." She covered and allowed Draco to continue speaking.

"As I was saying, I'm a high marking student. My family is well respected in the wizarding world. We live off of old money from generations ago, and the family business still carries and since I am the only heir to my family, I will be taking over the family business, but until my father hands it over I'll be on a national Quidditch team." He said and Hermione stared at him. She was finding out more about him just from him telling her parents about himself than she ever knew. And she's known him for seven years. Odd.

Conversation through dinner flowed nicely; Draco was severely civil towards Hermione, even touching her in front of her parents to give them the impression of two people genuinely happy about being engaged. Two hours later Hermione was being led out of the house by Draco, hugging her parent's goodbye and allowing them to say goodbye to Draco as well.

Hermione shut the door behind her and walked with him down the alley. "I think they were very impressed with you." Hermione spoke first, walking closer to him than necessary. "I was too." She added, looking over at him.

"I tried to be on my best behavior." He said, obviously proud of himself.

"And I thank you for that." Meeting her eyes, Draco nodded in response. With a sigh, Hermione pulled out the port key book from her purse and held it out for him to take hand of. Draco took hold of it and in an instant they were back at the school, landing in their common room.

Hermione forgot to be graceful this time, and landed on the floor, next to Draco. "Oomph." Hermione groaned, sitting up and rubbing her head where she had hit it. Slowly she stood, adjusting her shirt.

"Well, it has been an eventful evening." Hermione said, sitting down on the couch, where Draco came and sat next to her.

"I hate to say it, but for muggles, your parents are pretty nice." Draco complimented, causing Hermione's mouth to drop in response.

"Was that a compliment?" Hermione said, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"Eh, hold on to it. You won't get many of those." Draco said, sneering, though his voice held a playful tone. Hermione scoffed leaning back, her hands going to her stomach idly.

"I really do want to thank you for tonight. I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to handle telling my parents this. And I assumed you would only make it more difficult, when honestly, I couldn't have done it without your help." She said, glancing over as his silhouette.

The dark room was only lit by the dulling fire, which gave enough light to see half of a person's face if they were turned the right way.

Before Draco knew what he was doing he turned towards her, "Thank you" He murmured, before his lips found hers in the darkness.

----------------

**And there you have it. I hope I didn't rush them getting along too soon. That's really a problem I have. I never know when to start showing their connection. But I figured by the third chapter I could show them growing a little more close. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. In fact, I'm posting it within two days of posting my last update. Go me. **

**So, please review, it always inspires me more to get the updates up when I know people are enjoying what I write. **

**Love,**

**Lindsey.**


	4. Chapter 4

** Hello everyone! **

** Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, it's makes me so happy to see that people are actually reading what I write and that they enjoy it. I'm sorry it's taken me a few days to put this up, but this past week was my spring break from school, and during which I posted chapter two and three. But after that I went camping with my friends and family and I finished this chapter while there, but I had no internet access so I couldn't post it like I wanted to. Anyway, I hope you like it and please continue to review! **

* * *

Hermione wasn't quite sure what she was thinking when she leaned into him, her hands going around his neck as she responded to his kiss. Draco's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him as his lips danced across hers. Slowly at first, becoming deeper as the moments passed. Hermione had never been kissed this passionately. She's been kissed plenty of times but none had ever caused this hyperventilating, exciting feeling to course through her body. It wasn't until Hermione realized she was lacking the necessary amount of air to breath that she pulled away. Slowly she mover her lips from his and opened her eyes, brown eyes meeting his gray.

Had that really just happened? Had she really just kissed Draco Malfoy? Her mind was racing , her eyes remained on his which looked as if he was about to pull her into another kiss. "Draco..." Her voice unsure and her hand going to his chest to push him away gently.

"Granger, shut up." Draco said, shaking his head just as his hand went behind her neck to pull her back to him. Hermione was about to forget she hated the man in front of her, and allow him to kiss her like he had before when she felt an odd jump in her abdomen causing her to pull back, looking down at her stomach.

"I think it kicked..." She said slowly, her hand going to this spot right above her naval where she felt the light press.

Draco eyed her, "What do you mean 'it kicked'... Can they do that?" Hermione looked at him oddly; he really hadn't been paying attention in class at all.

"Yes. They usually start kicking after your sixteenth week. I'm supposed to be eighteen weeks along." Hermione said, and it kicked once more in the same spot. "Here, let me see your hand." Hermione said, and Draco slowly obliged eying it as if he was afraid it would bite him.

"Relax your hand." She said, raising her shirt slightly and placing his hand where hers was. "Now, speak." She said, her hand pressing on top of his.

"What am I supposed to say?" Draco asked, but at the sound of his voice, there was another kick right where his hand was. Draco flinched, pulling his hand back quickly, his eyes glued to where his hand had just rested. "What was that?" He asked, completely dumbfounded.

"The baby kicks at your voice." She answered, not entirely thrilled. It wasn't even out of the womb yet and it was already picking favorites.

Draco smirked, his hand going back to where it was before. Hermione watched him for a few minutes, his face in absolute awe each time he felt the slightest bit of movement. He had never been around a pregnant lady before, let alone someone pregnant with what was supposed to be his child. He was completely enthralled, and felt as if he could spend all night feeling the baby move.

Hermione broke the silence as she slowly stood up, causing Draco's hand to slide off of her. They had been touching far too much for one day. "Well, I'm going to bed." She said, pulling her shirt back down. "So, goodnight." She said, giving him a small smile before excusing herself and making her way up the stairs and to her bedroom, once showered and ready for bed she began to write.

_September 25th Day 8._

_ We went to my parent's house today. Draco and I had agreed to act like a couple that was happy about their engagement so that no further stress would be put onto my parents. The evening was enjoyable; my parents seemed impressed with Malfoy, and honestly, I was too. He can be so, dare I say it, normal sometimes. Malfoy and I are becoming closer over the days, we're expecting to get a package from the ministry tomorrow to explain to us what this 'bond' they mentioned actually entails. But I do believe Malfoy and I becoming closer is due to this bond, which could honestly be the only cause that would make me kiss him. Merlin, we kissed. I can't even fathom what to say about that exactly. Anyway, the baby kicked tonight. It was amazing. It seems to know Malfoy's voice, for when he would speak, it would kick. If it's choosing Malfoy as a favorite, this kid (if it weren't for the disappearing after two weeks) would be a lost cause._

_ Hermione_

_--------------_

Draco watched Hermione leave before letting out a long sigh, his hands running through his hair and down his face. 'Merlin, what the hell was that?' He asked himself, staring down at his feet, his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned over. He kissed a mudblood. He kissed Hermione Granger. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? Why did he even do that? "Bullocks." He muttered, standing up. He made his way to his room, showering and dressing for bed. He grabbed his journal and sat down on one of the arm chairs by the fire in his room, opening it and in the fire light he began to write.

_**September 25th Day 8.**_

_** I don't know what to say. I have a lot on my mind and not anything I want to share. I'll just sum this all up so that I can get some sleep. I met her parents. They liked me. When we returned the baby kicked. That's it.**_

_** Draco**_

_**--------------**_

The next morning Draco was the first to wake, and upon entering the common room he saw breakfast laid out and one letter sat on each side of the table, one addressed to Hermione, and the other to Draco. Draco sat down, picking up his letter, along with his juice, which he took a sip of before opening the letter. He knew what it was about, he had expected it. The ministry's second letter.

_**Dear Draco Malfoy,**_

_** Thank you for sending in your paper work as we have requested in time. We are now free to tell you a little more about the bond you will be experiencing with Miss. Granger. This bond will grow the more time you spend together. This bond will in no way effect your feelings for her. It is up to you and your match to fall in love. The bond only grows with the love. At one point, which will only be determined by you and Miss. Granger, your bond will be so close with Miss. Granger that you will be able to communicate through each others mind. This doesn't mean you will constantly be able to see into your matches mind. You will be able to feel what she is feeling through the bond, or she will send you a message. But you will never be able to freely look into her mind, for that would be an invasion of privacy. This will be the same for her. Hopefully this bond will occur before you get married in six months, the happier you both are as a married couple, the more promise we hold for this law having a positive outcome. We hope this new law will bring great happiness to you and your betrothed, and we wish you the greatest blessings.**_

_** Have a magical day,**_

_** Ministry of Magic**_

Draco read the letter twice, almost laughing. A bond that can let you communicate telepathically? Doubtful. He tossed the letter aside, and began to eat his breakfast. Hermione walked out of her room minutes later, her hair was in a messy bun on the top of her hair and she was in an overly large sweatshirt and pajama shorts, looking as if she wanted nothing more than to go back to bed. Hermione took a seat in front of her letter, looking down at it then back at Draco.

"Have you read yours already?" She asked, midway through her sentence yawning, her hand going to her stomach and a grimace crossing her face.

"Yeah. I read it. Are you okay?" He asked, she looked as if she was going to puke all over her breakfast. That mental image threw out any appetite Draco held before.

Hermione nodded, picking up the thin letter. "I'm fine, just a little nauseous." She mumbled, opening her letter, her eyes scanned it quickly, she found the 'bond' part intriguing. But there was one single part that stood out to her above the rest. "Six months..." She said slowly, her nauseousness was now increasing.

"Six months till what?" Draco asked confused, mid bite.

"We have six months to marry Malfoy. That means we have to get married by March. That's before graduation." Was the room spinning now? She took a deep calming breath, as Draco's eyes went wide. He hadn't done the calculations.

"If we announce our engagement in December, my mother only has four months to plan what I expect to be an extravagant wedding." Draco said, sighing. He better let his mother know soon, or else it would be his head on the chopping block.

"It's that seriously what you're thinking about? The wedding?" She asked, irritated.

Draco shrugged, he could tell this was going to be a bad day.

"Malfoy, we will be married in six months. I will be Mrs. Draco Malfoy in six months!" At this, she started to actually hyperventilate. This was all too fast, and she knew for sure that the room was spinning now.

"You aren't looking too well.." Draco said slowly, standing up and walking over to her, choosing to ignore her statement. That was something he did not want to think about right then. "You might want to go lay back down." Before she knew it he was behind her chair, helping her out and up the stairs back to her room.

"No, I have so much to do today, I can't just lay in bed." She said, though her body was moving willingly.

Draco rolled his eyes, "What could you possibly have to do. You are caught up on all of your work." He said, opening her door and leading her to the large bed in the center of the room. He sat her down slowly, leaning her against the headboard, where he pulled the covers up over her.

"How would you know I was caught up on all my work?" She asked, watching him move over her as he tried to cover her.

"You're Hermione Granger." He said simply, there was no more explanation needed.

"Thank you." She muttered, the room hadn't stopped spinning yet and she was sure that if this thing soccer kicked her one more time, she was going to give it a severe punishment when it arrived. Not literately of course, today just wasn't a good day, and since the baby had figured out it could really kick... It had found a new favorite hobby.

"Omph." Hermione groaned, leaning over as another kick was pressed to her abdomen. The pregnancy was moving along faster and faster with each day, by next Saturday Hermione and Draco would be taking care of a new born. Oh Merlin. This really was moving fast.

"What is it?" Draco asked, looking down at her stomach, which had grown slightly over the night.

"It kicked again." She said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes in hopes that it would help the world stop spinning.

"I'm going to go get you a cold wet cloth." He said, standing up from the edge of her bed and walking into the bathroom where he grabbed a towel.

"Draco, on second thought, could you just run me a bubble bath?" She called, that sounded a lot more enticing than a cold rag on her forehead.

"Yeah, sure." He replied, walking over to the bathroom and turning the knob, filling the large bathtub with warm water, and with a flick of his wand it was full of bubbles. Five minutes later he emerged, walking over to her. "Alright, your bath's ready." He said. Hermione was in slight shock, sure she had asked him to, but she never thought he would actually do it. Who was this man and what had he done with the ferret-version of Draco?

"Thank you." She said smiling, slowly pulling herself out of the bed and walking into the bathroom, the mirror had already fogged over from the heat of the bathtub. She gave him a small smile before closing the door behind her and slowly undressing. She moved her bun up higher onto her head as she climbed in, and as she sat down she let the bubbles wrap themselves around her body completely, the only part showing out of the water was the top of her stomach, which looked even larger without any clothes on. She lay there fifteen minutes before a knock came at Draco's side of the bathroom.

"Uhm, Granger..." He called, causing Hermione to open her eyes and snap out of her relaxed trance.

"Yes, Malfoy?" She asked calmly, running her hands over her stomach.

"I left my wand in there, are you decent enough for me to come in and get it?" He asked. Hermione looked over and she could see his wand sitting at the tiled edge of the bathtub. She made sure the bubbles where covering all of her important parts before replying.

"Yes. You can come in." She called, and shivered when she felt the rush of cool air enter the room when he opened the door.

"I'm sorry, but I need it for my potions assignment." He said, grabbing it, but his eyes lingered on her. Sure, he couldn't see anything but it was enticing to think of what lay beneath the bubbles.

"It's fine. Though, I'm surprised you haven't finished it yet." She said, her eyes closing once more as she leaned her head back.

Draco let his eyes dance across her once more before he left the room, closing the door behind him. Neither had mentioned the kiss from last night though both Hermione and Draco were awake half the night thinking about it. She acted as if it hadn't happened, besides the fact of them both being more civil towards each other. He wasn't sure why he had done it, or what had caused the sudden urge to kiss her, or why he still felt the slightest lingering feeling that he wanted to do it again. Walking back into his room, he sat at his desk and wrote a letter to his mother explaining that the wedding could be no later than mid-March, so if she was planning on having a large wedding she might want to start planning soon. He sent the letter off with his large black owl, watching from his window as it flew over the black lake and out of sight. He couldn't believe there was already talk of weddings, it had been a little over a week since he found out he was even engaged. To a woman, who he had thought he hated. He wasn't sure where his feelings stood on her, but he told himself that kiss was never going to happen again. He wouldn't let it. It gave him too many odd feelings.

---

Hermione emerged from the bath, looking slightly more relaxed and less nauseous than before. She dressed and left her hair down, not bothering to cast a drying spell on it just yet. On her path to her room, she was stopped by a familiar voice calling both her and Malfoy from the common room. Hermione opened her door, making her way down the stairs, Draco right behind her. Hermione almost stopped in her tracks when she saw Dumbledore standing in the middle of the room, a twinkle in his eyes and his hands folded behind him.

"Good morning, Professor." Hermione said, beginning to walk towards the old man once more.

Draco nodded to him, "Good morning." He murmured.

Dumbledore gave them each a small smile before speaking. "With you two being the Head's and having the fortune of having your own room and common room, and because you two are our most unlikely match. The ministry thinks it is a good idea to turn one of your rooms into a nursery and one of your rooms will be a room for you both to share. Also, though the project will only last two weeks, you two, according to the ministry are to keep your baby until March. They believe that making you two work together on something might be a way to get you to bond better." Dumbledore explained slowly, and once he grew quiet he prepared himself for the fireworks.

"What? Sir, this is completely unnecessary. Malfoy and I can bond on our own, I'd rather not share a bed with him." Hermione said, her voice almost hysteric as his words sunk in.

"And why must we be the only ones who keep our baby the longest? Surely we aren't the only match that don't get along." Draco added, crossing his arms. He knew today was going to be bad, and this just topped it off.

"Malfoy, you may or may not be the only ones. The ministry has not decided yet if the other couples need to keep theirs as well. But they do think you two should keep yours." As he spoke Hermione took a seat, her head going into her hands.

"Sir, It's really unnecessary for us to give up our rooms to create a nursery. We can both put a bassinet in our rooms and that will be fine." She said, pleading. Dumbledore nodded, and after a few seconds of consideration he agreed.

"I will tell the ministry that you are willing to keep the baby longer than the other students, but you will not be living in the same quarters." And with a small 'pop' he disappeared.

"Merlin. March?" Draco said, taking a seat on the armchair, looking down at his lap. To him, two weeks seemed like a long time. Now he has to spend six months with a baby that's just going to disappear. That was a waste. Looking over at Hermione he saw her shake her head before getting up and walking to her room, not saying a word.

-----

The week went by in an agonizingly slow fashion, the days seemed like they lasted weeks, for Hermione at least, who just wanted to get this baby out of her. She currently was slew across the couch, her feet resting on the arm, and a book held over her face that she was currently reading. Draco sat in the arm chair, reading as well. Neither had really spoken to one another since the morning Dumbledore came to visit them. Hermione had nothing to say, and if Draco wasn't talking then they weren't fighting, so it worked out fine. Draco watched her from the corners of her eyes. He had been keeping an eye on her a lot lately, and Hermione knew it. He watched her as if she was fragile and was about to break. It was getting quite annoying, honestly. She looked as if she was ready to pop, the large baby bump on her slender body looked awkward. If he knew she wouldn't hex him he would be making plenty of jokes right now, but thinking better for himself, he remained quite, his nose in his book.

"Oh." Hermione said, sitting up straight, her hand going to her stomach. "Oh..." She repeated again, this time almost in a painful moan.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, smirking. "Fantasizing about me again? You might want to do that in the privacy of your room." He teased, looking back to his book.

"Prick." Hermione murmured, gasping again. "Malfoy... We need to go to Madam Pomfrey.." She said slowly standing.

"Why?" He asked, not looking up from his book, that is, until she tore it from his hands.

"Because this baby wants out." She said, and Draco's eyes went wide, looking down at the mass growing on her abdomen.

"Oh-Okay." He muttered, standing up and leading her out of the door. Her breathing was labored and her knees were weak, but she was able to make it all the way to the hospital wing with out his help.

Once arriving, they could see they weren't the only couple going through this. They were escorted to a closed curtain, and after five painful minuets, for Hermione anyway, Madam Pomfrey walked in. "Alright, now let me explain to you how this will work. We believe that a natural birth for a child that is soon to disappear is too traumatizing for a young girl, so we're going to use magic and take the baby out, almost as how we put the baby in." She said, her voice soothing.

"Oh thank Merlin." Hermione said with a sigh of relief, she wasn't looking forward to natural child birth. Madam Pomfrey gave Hermione a small vile of purple liquid, which was supposed to take to disconnect the cord from the baby, and another vile that she was to take after the baby had been born in which would remove all signs of the previous pregnancy, and revert Hermione to her natural form.

Hermione took the first one, and they let it settle for thirty seconds before Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over Hermione and in a few seconds, a small crying baby boy appeared in her arms.

"Congratulations, you have a baby boy!" Madam Pomfrey said, bundling the baby up and handing him to Draco, as Hermione took her last potion and watched her body revert to it's previous form. Her clothes now, far too big and hanging off of her. With a flick of her wand, she reverted them to her old size before looking over at her baby.

Draco's eyes went wide when the child was placed in his arms. He looked down in awe as the baby's cries turning to to subtle hiccups. His eyes where wide and brown, and his hair was a dark color, like Hermione's. Though his lips and nose, along with his chin was all Draco. Hermione smiled down at the small infant.

"Hi." She murmured, running a finger over his head. "Nice to meet you." She added, the baby staring up at her in awe. Hermione watched as Draco held the baby awkwardly, almost wanting to laugh. "Have you ever held a baby before?" She asked, standing up from the bed she had been laying on.

"I'm an only child..." He explained, using this as an excuse.

"So am I. You've never had an aunt or uncle that have had a baby?" She asked, adjusting his arms so that he was holding the baby's head up comfortably.

"I have no aunts or uncles. Both of my parents are only children as well." He explained, handing the baby over to Hermione who took it with a wide smile.

She may not love Draco, and this baby may be only made of magic. But the moment she looked into his eyes that mirrored hers, she knew she was in love. But this was a different kind of love than she had ever felt before. This was unconditional, it had no limits. It was the love of a mother for her child.

"Draco..." She said slowly, taking Draco out of his current trance, his eyes on his son.

"Mhm?" He hummed, his hand taking the baby's in his, smiling at how small it was.

"We never thought of any names." She said.

"Well, it's gonna disappear, do you really want to wast a good name? We could just call it baby?" He smirked, causing Hermione smacking his arm.

"It's a baby. It has to have a name." She said, rolling her eyes at his insolence. Draco glared at her, his hand going to his arm. "How about Darren?" She asked, looking at the baby.

Draco made a face and shook his head, "No." As he was about to suggest his own name, Madam Pomfrey walked in with the next couple, Ron and Pavarti.

"What are you two still doing in here? You need to go back to your dorms now, there are others who need this room." She said, as Pavarti cried out in pain, far more dramatic than Hermione had been.

"Oh, sorry." Hermione said, walking out of the room, a crying baby in her arms and Draco behind her. Pavarit's scream had clearly upset many of the new borns, including her own. Once they quieted the baby and brought him back to their dorm, the name game began again.

"How about... Draconis?" Draco asked, she had already said no to just plain 'Draco'.

"Malfoy, he gets your last name. He's not having any of your first name." She said as she sat down on her bed, Draco sitting at the edge.

"Jason?" Hermione asked, and Draco shook his head again.

"No."

Hermione sighed, they were never going to agree on anything.

"Okay, I have a compromise. I'll give you Draconis as a middle name if you let me have Darren as a first name." She said, rocking the sleeping baby in her arms.

With an exasperated sigh Draco nodded, "Fine." he grumbled, looking down at the child in her arms.

"Darren Draconis Malfoy." Hermione said, smiling. "It has a nice ring to it." She added, looking over at Draco who only nodded.

"Yeah. But I want to name our real son Draco." He said, smiling proudly.

Hermione laughed, "No. There will be no more Draco Malfoy's. Ever. One for me is more than enough." She said, and slowly handed the sleeping baby over to him. "I don't want to leave him, but I should probably be down helping Madam Pomfrey right now. This is good healer training, and she seems like she could use all the help she could get." Hermione said, and a worried look crossed Draco's face. He had never been alone with a baby before. What was he supposed to do with it?

"You'll be fine. I think you need to bond with him. You seem a little too nervous around him. If you need any help, just come get me." she said, giving the small child a kiss on the forehead, inhaling the strong baby scent with a smile before walking out of the room, and heading back down to the hospital wing where chaos and screaming girls had ensued.

---

Draco watched his son sleep, a smile danced across his face as he rocked him idly. It wasn't till the baby awoke and started to cry that Draco panicked. "Alright... Babies. What was that Dumbledore said about babies?! They eat... a lot." He said, and looked around at the changing table they had put in a few days before. Two bottles sat on it, with instructions as to how to make baby formula appear with a flick of the wand.

Draco carried his son over to the changing station and followed the instructions, the bottle filling up with a warm white liquid. Draco laid the bottle down on the baby's chest, expecting it to pick it up and drink from it.

"Do your arms not work?" He asked, putting the bottle in the baby's mouth, he began to drink quickly. He put the baby's hands on the bottle before letting it go and watched it topple out of the baby's mouth, and it let our a shrill cry.

"Okay okay, I'll have to hold it." Draco said, trying to calm down the baby as he placed the bottle back in it's mouth and it began to drink once more. Draco sighed, sitting back down on Hermione's bed as he let the baby eat.

------

An hour later Hermione heard her name called as Draco came walking briskly down the hallway holding the baby at arms length. Hermione had just finished with Ginny and Harry, who had had a little girl with bright red hair and green eyes. They both walked away with large smiles on their faces as they discussed baby names. Hermione sighed and turned around, her eyes going wide at the sight of her baby being held in thin air by Draco.

"Draco Malfoy! That's not how you hold the baby." She said, taking him from Draco.

"Well, I didn't want to get it on me." Draco explained.

"Get what on you?" She asked, though she could smell what was the problem.

"That." Draco said, pointing to the diaper. "I fed him when he was hungry... but I cant do this part. I do not change diapers." He said, backing away as Hermione laid him on one of the beds, taking off his diaper. She reached over and grabbed a wipe, which they had stacked in all over the curtained off rooms. She quickly cleaned her son, tossing the dirty diaper in the trash and replacing it with a new one.

"There, all better now, baby." She said, kissing the nose of her child. She handed him back to Draco. "You're going to have to change a dirty diaper at some point." She said, washing her hands.

Draco shook his head, "Nope. That's what you're here for. I'm just here to be devastatingly handsome and teach him how to play quidditch." He said, Hermione rolled her eyes and ushered him out of the room.

"We still have about twenty more girls, so you might want to wait in the room for me. Or you can wait here, it doesn't matter."she said, and Draco took a seat on one of the chairs by the door. He wasn't going back to the room just so he could walk all the way back here when the child decided he wanted to explode gunk out of his rear again.

Hermione walked back over to him fifteen minutes later, taking her crying baby from him. "Did you burp him when you fed him?" She asked, leading the way back to their room.

"Was I supposed to?" He asked, opening the portrait.

Hermione groaned, "I really wish you would have paid attention in class. Then it wouldn't feel like I'm doing this alone." She muttered, sitting down on the couch. "Go get me a towel please. He's only fussing because he needs to be burped." She said, looking over at Draco.

Draco nodded and left her alone for a few minutes as he went to retrieve the towel. He came back with two towels, one dry and one wet, unsure as to which she wanted. She took the dry from his hands and laid it over her shoulder.

"Alright, this is how you do this, pay attention." She said, and Draco took a seat on the coffee table in front of her. She propped the baby up so that his head was resting on her towel-clad shoulder. She patted his back gently until the baby let out a small 'burp', she continued for a few minutes before Draco spoke.

"What was the towel for?" But his question was answered as he watched Darren spit up all over the towel. He only nodded, Hermione not finding the need to explain after that.

"I'm going to go run him a bath, do you mind watching him for a minute while I do that?" She asked, and Draco took Darren from her arms, holding him as she had taught him to. "I'll be right back." She said, taking both of the towels with her, as she left to the bathroom. She frowned when she saw the size of the tub, it was much too big and they didn't have a booster chair for her to lay him in. Her and Draco were going to have to make a shopping trip tomorrow. They needed baby things, especially if they were to have him for six months. She looked over at the sink and smiled, and was just big enough for him to fit comfortably if she put a towel around the edges so that he would be comfortable. She took the damp towel and placed it around the back of the sink where she would lean the baby against before filling it half-way up with warm water.

"Malfoy, can you bring him in here please?" She called, grabbing a few more towels from the linen closet. Draco walked into the room, looking down at the baby in his arms, smiling like an idiot. Hermione took Darren with a smile and quickly rid him of the diaper, placing him in the sink, where he began to scream.

"Malfoy, could you give me a hand here please?" She asked, sighing as she tried to get the baby to warm up to the water.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, rolling the sleeves of his white button-up up.

"Can you support his back and place a hand on his stomach?" She asked, getting a bottle of baby wash she had gotten a few days prior from Dumbledore.

"Why on his stomach?" He asked, doing as she said.

"Because, babies feel like they are falling if they don't have a hand on them. That was said during class as well." Hermione gave him a pointed look. Slowly the wails calmed down to quiet murmurs as Hermione softly poured the water across the baby. She washed him gently, and then went to his hair washing it as well.

"I wish my hair was as straight as his." Hermione complained, running her fingers through the impressive amount of hair he had for a new born.

"Runs on the Malfoy side." Draco said proudly.

"Yeah? Well he has my eyes... and the color of my hair." She said, picking Darren up out of the water and quickly wrapping him in a towel.

"I've noticed." He said, draining the sink and drying off his hands. Hermione frowned as she realized she had nothing to really dress him in except a diaper.

"Malfoy, we're gonna have to go shopping tomorrow." She said, sitting on the tiled floor, placing the baby on a towel while she dried him and put on a new diaper.

"Alright." He agreed, taking Darren from her so that she could stand up. "You know, It's different seeing you without it looking like you have a bludger under your shirt." He said, causing Hermione to swat at his arm again.

"Just because I'm back to my old size does not mean you can make pregnant jokes." She said, eying him. She took Darren from him and walked into her room, Draco on her heels. She laid Darren down in his crib, running a hand over his head. "Goodnight." She murmured, kissing the top of his head.

Draco wasn't sure what to do, he had issues when it came to affection, but he thought better of himself and leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Darren's head.

The pair walked out of the room and fell into an exhausted heap on the couch. "You know, I've been dealing with babies all day, and I have to say, ours was the quietest. Which is surprising, seeing as he is our child." Hermione stated. _Our child._ That's weird. She wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that or not.

"Not to mention, he has to be the cutest." Draco said, and Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, he is. Though, I'm probably being biased." She shrugged. Draco looked over at her, she looked exhausted, and thankfully a lot slimmer.

"So... You're going to be a healer?" He asked, thinking back to when she told him that it was good healer training to help Madam Pomfrey.

"Yeah. I plan on working at St. Mungos." Her eyes were closed as she spoke. Draco only nodded, feeling the silence become comfortable instead of awkward.

"Hey, guess what I just thought of..." Hermione spoke. So much for silence.

"Well, Granger, you've been known to think a lot of thinks, and I'm sure you're about to tell me what this one is." His sarcastic voice replied.

With a huff, Hermione continued, "You got your heir." She said, crossing her arms with a smug look.

"This does not count, Granger. He'll disappear in less than six months." He said, rolling his eyes. Hermione frowned, but remained silent.

"It's getting late, and I am exhausted." She said, standing up. It wasn't late at all, in fact it was only after nine.

"Granger... It's not late." Draco said, eying the large clock above the fire place.

"It is to me. I'm tired. Goodnight, Draco." She said, walking up the stairs.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

---

_October 2nd Day 15._

_ Darren Draconis Malfoy was born today. He's adorable. He has my hair color and eyes, but the rest is pure Draco. At least so far. I bet if this child had a chance to grow into a young child, it would be smart like me. Oh, and he'd hate his father. I spent the day in the hospital wing helping Madam Pomfrey while Draco looked after Darren. He did a pretty good job for someone who hasn't payed attention all semester in class. The only problem we had was his inability to change diapers. But Darren is going to be a good baby, I believe. Out of all of the babies I helped today, ours was the quietest and cutest. But, I'm also biased. _

_ Hermione._

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**Well, I don't know if this is my favorite chapter I've ever written, but it is the longest I've posted yet. Over 6490 words. Woo. I'm sorry if it seemed a little rushed, but I got writers block in the middle, and instead of spending days trying to figure out what should happen next, I decided just to skip ahead to where I knew the story was going. I hope you didn't mind. I'm trying to keep Draco and Hermione as in Character as I can. But I love Draco, and part of me wants to turn him into this great father. Which, I eventually will. But I like Draco as Draco, so it's going to take me some time to warm him into the great father, husband.. blah blah blah role. **

**Anyway, please review! I love to hear what everyone thinks!**

**-Lindsey**


	5. Chapter 5

** I'm sorry it's taken me a while to post this. But I just couldn't find the inspiration and school, and finals etc.. But, school is over now. Woohoo. So I can update more. Thank you to all my faithful reviewers, I love you all. You're great, so in dedication to all who have reviewed and continued to read and review, this is to you! And, if you have an idea you would love to put into the story, send me a pm or review and if I like it (Odds are I will, unless it goes against my future plans), then I'll write it in just for you. **

** -Lindsey.**

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"Malfoy, when I said we needed to go shopping, I didn't mean we had to buy the whole store. Come on, Darren has plenty of things now." Hermione groaned, rocking the sleeping baby in her arms. Looking up at the clock she saw it was past lunch, which would explain her grumbling stomach. They had left right after breakfast this morning, and had been shopping ever since. Something Hermione didn't like doing very much. Draco grinned widely holding up a small Slytherin colored quidditch uniform, the perfect size for a baby.

"Granger!" He called, waving the article of clothing. Hermione rolled her eyes and nodded, knowing that if she didn't give in she'd hear it from him for the rest of the night. Not that she had a say in it anyway, it was his money (Well, his fathers), and he was going to do with it as he pleased.

"That is it though. After you buy that we're going to get lunch. I'm hungry and Darren needs to be fed." She said, walking with him up to the counter where the middle aged woman with light brown hair, was smiling broadly.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, I never thought I'd seen you in a children's store. And, I'm surprised I didn't read about the news of your baby." She said, motioning over to where Hermione was blushing deeply. Apparently, the news of the 'magical babies' hadn't been spread about.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell any one either, Raniene." Malfoy, said, putting the articles of clothing on the counter. Raniene nodded, her eyes watching Hermione and Darren as she checked out his purchases.

"Malfoy tab?" She asked, conjuring a bag to put everything in. Malfoy only nodded, taking the bag from her and nodding a thank you. Putting his hand on the small of Hermione's back, he lead her out of the store and into the cool fall air.

"We'll need to go someplace private to eat now, Raniene will have told every worker for the Daily Prophet about seeing me with a woman and a baby before we're done eating." He said, shaking his head. When Hermione had insisted that they go into that store because of their 'adorable displays', he agreed, forgetting that Raniene was the owner and operator.

Raniene was known for being the right-hand-woman that helped Rita Skeeter with her story's, telling her all of what she had seen from her store windows, or heard in the hushed conversations of her customers. A realization Malfoy should have had before he walked up to check out. His mother wouldn't be happy if news of the engagement came out before the grand Christmas ball. Thankfully, though, the woman surprisingly didn't seem to recognize Hermione Granger, the great war hero and best friend of Harry Potter.

"Alright, but hold on, can we get the stroller out, my arms are killing me." Hermione said, stopping and grabbing the box that they had shrunk and pulling the stroller out of it. She brought it back to it's normal size before placing Darren in it. She shrunk the box once more and stuffed it into one of the bags. She began pushing it, following Draco.

"Where are we going?" She asked, looking around the dark ally they he had led them into.

"There's a small cafe back here, it's secluded and private." Draco said, opening up a large wooden door and ushering her in. The atmosphere was dark, and slightly musky, but it had the air of a Library and Hermione immediately fell in love. The hostess walked over, her blond hair bouncing with each step she took.

"Heyloo, welcome to ... Oh, Draco Malfoy." She said, looking up from her seating chart she had in her hand. Draco remembered the girl immediately, cringing. He had... messed around with her the previous summer. Nothing too serious, just a few one-night-stand deals. But she always put off the vibe that she wanted more, anything more. He nodded at her, before speaking.

"Yes, Hello. Table for two please, with room for the stroller." He said, pointing to Hermione and Darren. The hostess's, whose name tag read 'Rachelle', eyes widened as she looked down at the car seat, immediately thinking he had been cheating on Hermione with her during the summer. She gave him a cold glare as if to say 'You cheating, sorry, son of a -' before nodding, leading them to their table.

"Your server will be with you in a few moments." And with another sneer, she turned and returned to her podium at the front of the restaurant.

Hermione watched her leave, almost laughing at the glares she was giving to Draco. Finally, someone who hated him as much as she and he didn't even have to say much to influence it. She smiled proudly, taking a seat and pulling the stroller closer to her, but to her surprise, Draco pulled it to him, taking Darren out and holding him in his arms with more ease than any previous times.

"You're getting better with him." She said quietly, as if she was in a library. Draco smiled, bouncing the baby slowly in his arms.

"Thanks, and think, six months from now... I'll be a pro." He grinned broadly, his baby's hands reaching up slowly, and awkwardly reaching for anything he could grasp with his tiny, and slightly pudgy fingers. Draco gave him his pinky, letting him hold on to it. Hermione went to speak when the waiter walked up, hands behind his back and his bright hazel eyes dancing as he made his way to the three.

"Good afternoon, I'm Luke. I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you two off with drinks?" He asked, his voice light and chipper.

"Two Butterbeers." Draco said, not pausing to let Hermione order for herself, Luke nodded, and began to take a step back when Hermione raised a finger.

"Uhm, one butterbeer. I want a sweet tea, please." Luke nodded, walking away with their drink order. "Not a big butterbeer fan, sorry." She said, shrugging.

"But what about that one story I heard about...?" Draco looked confused, sitting the baby up on his lap slightly.

"What story?"

"You know, fourth year, celebration in Gryffindor Tower ... I heard you got blasted." Draco smirked, giving her the once over as if he disapproved. Hermione groaned, running a hand over her face.

"Oh that was one time. And I was unaware of my consumption rate." She defended, peering through the slots between her fingers before placing her hands back in her lap. Draco only smirked, the stories he had heard had left him dumbfounded and for her to not object to them only meant that they were true. Now, Draco was determined to get her drunk sometime. Just to experience this 'wild Hermione' that he had heard so much about. Soon, after eating and paying Draco carried out a crying Darren, and Hermione pushed the empty stroller.

"We should probably just apperate here." He said, looking down the alley from where they had come from.

"Why?"

"Because, Rita Skeeter is probably already out there, along with ten other reporters from various News sources." He said, turning towards Hermione. With a look down the ally way, she nodded. She didn't feel like announcing to the world that she was engaged to Draco Malfoy, in fact she was dreading the Christmas ball more and more each day. Stupid rich wizards and their stupid fancy balls. Can't they all just have bar-b-ques like regular witches and wizards? Hermione was pulled from her thoughts as Draco began to speak again, catching her attention.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his tone slightly annoyed as if he had stated this a few times before. Hermione nodded, and folded the stroller, placing it in the small box before unwillingly reaching out and taking his hand so they could apperate at the same time. They landed in the common room, Darren on Draco's hip and Hermione in a heap on the floor.

"I hate apperating." She fussed as she stood up, straightening her clothes, she dropped the large bag that held all the other shrunken bags onto the floor, before taking Darren from Draco and heading up the stairs.

"I'm going to give him a bath... You choose the pajama outfit to put on afterward." She instructed before making her way up the stairs and entering through the middle door, the bathroom that conjoined to their separate bedrooms.

Draco watched her walk away, before unshrinking all of the bags and finding the one outfit he was most excited about. The miniature quidditch style outfit, with the Slytherin crest on the chest, and the soft fabric colored in deep greens, browns, and silver. He smirked, pulling it out and holding it up in front of him, examining it with great pride before heading up the stairs and into the bathroom. He walked in on Hermione trying to get the baby bath seat they had bought to sit in the tub comfortably, which didn't appear to be working.

"Just use the sink, we'll figure out that blasted thing later." Draco insisted, turning the faucet on, his fingers running under the water to make sure it wasn't too warm, nor too cool. Hermione glared, why hadn't she thought of that? She stood up, bring Darren with her as she made her way to where he stood and slowly sat Darren down in the water. He began whimpering, but thankfully it didn't turn out into a full cry. Unlike his previous bath, where the screams were almost deafening. Draco had then thought for sure that they had gotten a mandrake root for a child.

They bathed him quickly, as if to make sure he didn't began to really wail. And soon, they had him out of the bath and dressed. Draco seemed so proud seeing him in that mockery of a quidditch suit. It almost made Hermione laugh.

"He should be getting ready for a nap, I'll lay him down in my room." She offered, removing Darren from Draco's arms. Draco nodded, and opened her door for her, leading them in. Only, what they saw wasn't exactly what they were expecting. Hermione's room wasn't there. Instead it was a warm yellow colored room, filled with all types of muggle animal decorations, and a large crib and changing table.

There was a large rocking chair in the far right corner, by the window, with a soft green blanket draped over it. The mobile over the bed had been magicked, and the miniature giraffes, elephants and monkeys spun slowly, each making a low volume sound. At the moment the elephant was trumpeting while the monkey ate what one would assume was a banana. It was all very cute, but not exactly what Hermione's room was before.

"What the hell?" She gasped, walking further into what used to be her room, Darren's eyes wide as he looked around at the life size cartoon replicas of the zoo animals that were now painted on the wall.

"Where is my room?" She questioned, looking around. Her eyes then fell on the note that sat on the table next to the rocking chair. She handed Darren to Draco and walked over to the letter, picking it up before unfolding it and reading it out loud.

_**Dear Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy,**_

_**The ministry has decided, against our wishes that they want to keep to their original plan and the two of you are to be sharing one room, and turning the other room a nursery. After speaking with them today, they explained to me that they believe your bond will grow closer if you are forced to be around each other more. I, on the other hand, do not agree with this. I do believe it will help your relationship become stronger, but I believe there are other ways to doing so. But, I have no say in this matter. So I took it into my own hands to get the nursery ready for you two for when you returned home. I'm sorry for this inconvenience, but let's try to make the most out of it. Who knows, maybe something good will come out of this. **_

_** -Professor A. Dumbledore**_

_** P.S. **_

_** I hope Darren likes the animals. I figured yellow would be a neutral enough color for the two of you not to fight over. **_

_** Good Luck.**_

"Wait, does that mean you'll be living in my room?" Draco asked, the information fully hitting him now, and the sneer on his face showed his pure displeasure with this. Hermione sat down the letter, rolling her eyes.

"It seems so." She responded with a shrug of her shoulders as she took Darren out of Draco's arms and laid him down in the crib, turning on the baby monitor that Dumbledore had supplied them with. She figured the receptor was located in 'their' room. She leaned down, pressing a small kiss to the top of her baby's head before turning around and walking through the bathroom and into Draco's room, and just as she had suspected, the room had been completely redecorated as well.

Draco followed after her, closing the nursery door behind him. His eyes went wide at the sight before him, what used to be a masculine, deep green, Slytherin room was now a deep brown with hints of deep green and white as accents. There was a large canopy bed to the right of the bathroom door, with dark silk blankets, and a large array of pillows. There were two dressers, one on each side of the room, and two small love seat couches in front of the fire place. In front of the windows, there were two desk side by side in deep mahogany. It was beautiful, but not what he wanted.

"Wow." Hermione mused, walking further into the room, her hand running over the silk sheets. Sure, she wasn't thrilled about sharing a room with Malfoy, but the colors and furniture captured her. It was absolutely lovely.

"I don't like it." He reserved, sneering around the room, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I won't mind if you decide to sleep in the nursery with the baby, then. That's fine." She retorted, smirking before falling back on the bed. It was so comfortable, if not the most comfortable bed she had ever laid on. Draco watched, her keeping his distance as she plopped back on the bed. Images began playing in his head like a movie as he watched her get comfortable on the bed. A movie he did not want to watch. Ever. But, he was a male and there was an attractive girl laying across a bed in front of him, and these images were inevitable. He turned away from her, walking over to the desk and looking out the windows. It was turning dark out now, even though it was only the middle of the day. There was a storm brewing and it was bound to hit any moment.

"It's about to rain." Draco informed her, turning back towards her before getting over his pride and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"You should open a window." Hermione said, her closed eyes opening when she felt the bed move with the weight of another body.

"Did you not hear me, Granger? I said it's about to rain. Why would I open a window if it's going to rain?" He responded, looking at her as if she was a completely incompetent person. He slipped off his shoes, tossing them somewhere to the side of the room carelessly.

"I heard you, Malfoy. I like the sound and smell of the rain." She explained, choosing to ignore his tone. They had had a pretty pleasant afternoon and she didn't want to spoil it with fighting.

Draco sighed before getting back up and doing as she asked, opening the window and casting an invisible shield over it so that the rain would not be able to get into the room. Hermione watched as he did so, quite impressed that he didn't make her get up and do it, as she had expected him to.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Granger."

He returned to the bed, and they sat in silence for a few moments, and for once, it was a comfortable silence. It wasn't a tense silence that they usually experienced after one of their fights, it was a serene, almost calming silence. Enjoyable, to say the least. But of course, Hermione had to be the one to break it. She couldn't last long with out talking, Draco presumed.

"I don't understand why they are making us share a room." She said, though she was actually speaking to herself. Draco was now laying back on the bed, beside her but not one part of him was touching her. If anything, he was doing everything he could with out falling off of the bed to make sure there was a steady distance maintained between their bodies.

"They explained it in the letter, Granger." His response was dull, as if he was close to a nice nap and she had interrupted it.

"Well, yes. I know that. But I just don't understand why they just won't let us bond on our own. They're already making us get married. Why can't they just let us do this part by ourselves?" She now turned on her side, facing him. With a groan, Draco opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"They are letting us, Hermione." Her first name rolled off of his lips easily in a smooth manner, making her stomach do a small flip, or maybe she was just suffering a sudden food poisoning from lunch. That was probably it.

"How so?"

"They're letting us bond as we wish, they're just egging it on a little bit. See, we're bonding right now by just talking and having a conversation, but they haven't done anything to make us do so, they just put us in a situation to where we could." He turned now as well, facing her. Hermione eyed him for a moment, taking in what he had said.

"Since when did you become the logical one. That's my job. You're supposed to be the mean, disapproving one, and I'm supposed to be the logical, gentle one. Those are our roles." She joked, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, well, it looks like our characters may have been re-written." He responded, his smile reflecting hers.

**(A.N. During this next scene I would absolutely love it if you played this song in the background. This is my soundtrack to the scene in my head, and it fits perfectly. "Feels like home" by Chantal Kreviazuk. You won't regret it. Sorry for the interruption. Enjoy!)**

The thunder then crashed, and the rain started to pour from the sky harder than it had ever before. The sound of it hitting the roof beside the window echoed through the quiet room, and the lightening lit it up with each flash. And in one dark moment between the flashes of lightning their lips had found each other. The kiss was slow, building almost like the storm around them. Neither was sure who had moved in first, or who they would blame for it later. But both knew that this was the most spectacular kiss that either of them had ever shared with anyone else. And it was in that moment that they had come to an agreement. An agreement of dating. Sure, they were engaged. But that was forced, this was by choice, this was by need and desire. This is what they both wanted.

His hands had found their way around her, pulling her body to his as their lips melted together. Her hands were on his neck, her fingers running through the hair at the nape of it as he kissed her. He soon pinned her beneath him, kissing her from her lips to her jaw and then back. The lightening was still vibrantly flashing, and the thunder was steady roaring around them when they broke the kiss, both pulling back slightly. Draco's arms supported his body over her and his forehead rested against hers as they caught their breath. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but when she did, he lowered his mouth back to hers, silencing her.

"Just enjoy the moment." He murmured against her lips, as he kissed the corner of them. Hermione sighed, nodding as she stared up at him. She couldn't see him clearly unless the lightening flashed, and even then it was only for a split second. She kissed him again, pulling him back to her.

"So, we're doing this." She whispered, removing her lips from his as he lowered his lips to trace her jaw again. He looked back up at her, unsure as to what she meant. She laughed quietly, shaking her head.

"I don't mean we're about to shag, Malfoy." She said, laughing quietly. He grinned a devilish smile and returned his mouth to where it was before, making lazy tracks to her ear.

"I meant, we're really going to fall for each other. It's inevitable." She said, biting her bottom lip as he kissed her ear lobe before returning to her lips.

"I'm in it if you are." He whispered, and once again, the room went silent except for the thunder around them and the sound of the rain hitting the roof.

* * *

**A.N.**

**So, I think I actually like this chapter. I wasn't sure where I was going with it at the beginning of it, and I know it's a little shorter than usual. But I want to update more and I keep concentrating on making it longer than my previous one. And I think that it taking a lot of my creativity out of it. So it might not be as long, but hopefully it's just as good, if not better. **

**I really did hope you liked it, I had such a blast finishing up this chapter. And I finally made myself start the romance. I didn't want to make them be too OOC. But this is where it lead to and I'm happy with it. I hope you enjoyed, and PLEASE ,PLEASE review. It is the ones that review or send me a sweet message who give me the inspiration to write more and more. **

**And once again I am so sorry this took so long to get up. But everyone knows the last two months of school are the most hectic, so I had absolutely no time, whats so ever. But, I'm finished now and have all summer to keep updating. **

**So to you, you wonderful people, just keep reviewing and be safe on your holiday vacations!**

**Love,**

**Lindsey**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thank you, everyone for the wonderful feedback and for forgiving me for my MIA moment. A few of you sent me ideas you have for the story, and they were all great, and I'll be using each idea that was given. Also, someone said they had forgotten what had happened so they had to go back and re-read the story, which is cool, but also inconvenient. So, I'm going to start adding a 'previously...' on the story, to maybe give your brain a little reminder of what happened 'last time'.**

**Anyway, here's to you.**

**Enjoy.**

**

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**

_**Previously on Arranged Marriage: Of a Malfoy and a Granger:**_

_"Just enjoy the moment." He murmured against her lips, as he kissed the corner of them. Hermione sighed, nodding as she stared up at him. She couldn't see him clearly unless the lightening flashed, and even then it was only for a split second. She kissed him again, pulling him back to her._

_"So, we're doing this." She whispered, removing her lips from his as he lowered his lips to trace her jaw again. He looked back up at her, unsure as to what she meant. She laughed quietly, shaking her head._

_"I don't mean we're about to shag, Malfoy." She said, laughing quietly. He grinned a devilish smile and returned his mouth to where it was before, making lazy tracks to her ear._

_"I meant, we're really going to fall for each other. It's inevitable." She said, biting her bottom lip as he kissed her ear lobe before returning to her lips._

_"I'm in it if you are." He whispered, and once again, the room went silent except for the thunder around them and the sound of the rain hitting the roof._

_

* * *

_

They had spent two hours that afternoon, laying in the bed listening to the rain, kissing, touching, and bonding. It had been perfect, and just enough to put Hermione to sleep. At some point after the kissing had slowed, and the touching was minimized to Draco's arm around her, and her head on his chest she had allowed sleep to over take her. Which was why when the baby monitor began to emit baby whimpers, Draco knew it would all be his this time.

Slowly, he untangled himself from Hermione and walked across the room and through the bathroom, opening Darren's door slowly, as if to make sure he hadn't gone back to sleep during the one minute it took to come check on him. To Draco's dismay, he was still awake, and crying. His arms were outstretched at the mobile in front of him, and his cheeks were tear-stained. He walked over slowly, catching Darren's gaze as he leaned over the crib.

"Hey there, you hungry?" He guessed, picking up the baby gently, fitting him perfectly in his arms as he walked over to the changing table, where in one of the clear drawers he could see empty bottles. He murmured a wand-less spell they had learned in the parenting class, and the bottle filled with warm baby milk. He put it to Darren's lips, who began to suck in a greedy fashion, tiny hands gripping at the bottle.

"Slow down, you're going to make yourself sick." He whispered as he took a seat in the rocking chair, next to the windows where he could still see the rain continuously falling. He rocked slowly, the movement almost putting him to sleep. Darren finished the bottle quickly, and Draco burped him, until he felt the warm liquid rolling down his hand.

"See, I told you." Draco said, his voice disgusted as he stood up, baby still in his arms. He walked into the bathroom, balancing Darren in one arm while he washed the other hand under the running water of the sink.

"Granger needs to wake the hell up. I did not sign of for puking babies." He murmured, his voice vile and harsh. Surprise overwhelmed him when he look up into the mirror, only to see her reflection already standing in the door way, leaning against the frame. He wanted to laugh when he first saw her, and then he realized he was the reason she looked the way she did, and for some reason a small hint of pride flooded through him. Her hair, which had been down in gentle curls before, was now slightly frizzy and surrounded her, almost like a mane. But far more tamed. Her clothes were twisted, and her lips were still a vibrant red and swollen from their previous kissing.

"Why, can't handle him yourself?" She asked, taking Darren from Draco's arms and bouncing him idly, allowing Draco to fully clean his hands. Draco smirked, rolling his eyes as he dried off his hands, before taking Darren back into his arms.

"I can handle him." He assured her, taking the now damp towel he had used to dry his hand to clean Darren's face.

"Then, I'm sure you wont mind watching him while I go down to supper with the boys?"

"Sure. But, you might want to change first." He said, now laughing slightly as he took Darren into his arms.

"Why? What's wrong with what I have on?" Hermione spoke, looking down at her clothes.

"Well, you look like I've shagged you senseless. Though... I think you'd have more of a satisfied glow if I had, and I assure you, you wouldn't be able to walk so gracefully afterward." He paused, letting his compliment to himself settle in the air as he watched her face contort into a face of disgust. "Your hair is far crazier than normal, your clothes are wrinkled and twisted, and your lips are slightly swollen." He smirked as he spoke, his eyes running over her form. Hermione huffed, reappraising herself. He did have a point.

"Well, it's not as if any one would suspect I would shag you." She retorted, walking to the mirror, and running a hand through her hair to fix it.

Draco laughed openly now, "No one would expect you to shag anyone, anyway." He paused, his laughter dying down as he registered what she said. "Wait... You think you wouldn't shag me?" He scoffed.

"Well, not anytime soon. . . I mean, I'm going to have to eventually. It's part of our agreement, remember. You get an heir." She corrected, they were getting married, it was inevitable that it would happen at some point.

"I'll have you out of your knickers before the Christmas Ball, I assure you. Just to prove you wrong." He flashed her his signature Malfoy smirk before leaving her speechless, watching his reflection retreat into the nursery.

Hermione left ten minutes later through the portrait door, after gaining her composure and straightening her clothes. She emerged into the Great Hall, and her eyes immediately fell on her group of friends, each holding a baby in their arms as they tried to eat.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron shouted at the same time, before both covering their mouth. They had learned the hard way that shouting has tendencies of waking infants. Why the mother of these children trust to leave them alone with their fathers was beyond Hermione. But, then again, she left Darren with Draco as well.

"Hey boys. Hey Gin." Hermione said, taking a seat next to Ron. Harry and Ginny were sitting on the opposing side of the table, close to one another, as usual.

"We haven't seen you in a few days. Where have you been?" Ginny asked, lifting her goblet of pumpkin juice to her mouth.

"Well, I've been busy with the baby.. Well, and Draco too." Hermione said, smiling as she made herself a plate from the spread before them.

"Draco? Are we on a first name basis now?" Harry asked, cocking an eyebrow as he watched his best friend blush slightly.

"Sometimes, and then sometimes we're not. It's really an off and on thing." She answered honestly, before taking a small bite of her food.

"And currently?" Ginny chimed in, she couldn't help herself but hear about what Hermione and the Slytherin Sex God had been up to these past few days. She loved Harry, and she loathed the way Malfoy acted, but that didn't mean she wouldn't bed him in a hot minute.

"And currently, he's in the head dorm taking care of Darren." She said, dancing around the question that her vibrant friend was actually asking. Ginny glared playfully before taking her child from Harry, who had been muttering about his arm falling to sleep under the weight.

"So, how are things with the ferret? We haven't really heard anything from you about it." Ron said, before stuffing his face with a roll. He must have forgotten about the child in his arms, as it was slowly sinking lower and lower. Hermione laughed quietly, putting her hand under the baby's head, encouraging Ron to hold him more efficiently.

"Things are . . . Okay. We're civil. Sometimes he's extraordinarily thoughtful, which is not a Malfoy characteristic that I was aware of. And then sometimes he's an annoying little twit who I want to curse the hell out of. I mean, he can be very sweet, but that's only recently in the past day or so. Usually he's a very inconsiderate, vile, -" Hermione was cut off by Ginny pointing behind her.

"Nice to see you talking so fondly of me, Granger." Draco stated, he had walked up mid-way through her speech, a crying Darren in his arms.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that, Malfoy. You might hear things you don't want to." She responded, turning around towards him. "What's wrong with him?" She asked, Her attention now going to the crying Darren in his arms.

"I don't know. He won't stop doing it. It was getting on my nerves, so I'm bringing him to you." He said, shoving the baby at her, but in a gentle enough manner. Hermione glared, apparently her words that he overheard had ruined his previous chipper mood and taking a nice kick at his ego. Which she considered a good thing, Malfoy needed a little ego kick every now and then. But, maybe she should have waited a little longer to talk ill of him. I mean, they had spent a wonderful afternoon together, but she couldn't very well tell her friends that.

"Fine." Her voice was softer now, realizing she had been wrong to speak of him as she did.

"Fine." His cold, mimicked response followed.

The tension in the air was thick, and each of her friends were looking from one to the other as they spoke, waiting for the first one to throw the spell. Though, oblivious to the boys, Ginny could sense something more than just the fevered tension, there was sexual tension behind it as well. Any fool could see it... well, apart from the two next to her. Ginny knew by the look in the pair's eyes that they could feel it too, and she smirked. It would only be a matter of time.

"Malfoy, what is your problem?" Hermione asked exasperated, though she knew ever well what was wrong. Darren continued to cry, only causing the situation to be more chaotic.

"You, Granger. You are my problem." He said, before storming off and out of the great hall. Hermione turned back to her friends who immediately waved her off.

"Go attack him. We know you want to." Harry spoke first, rolling his eyes at the retreating form of Malfoy.

"Oi! Hit him like you did in fourth year." Ron said, his eyes bright and hopeful that she would comply with his request.

"I just might, Ronald." And with that, she was off, baby in her arms and head held high. She couldn't believe that he had gone from being a tolerable guy that she could actually imagine spending the rest of her life with, to being a horrid jack ass in under and hour. Sure she wasn't saying the nicest things about him, but what did he expect? Years of torment weren't going to be forgotten over a long session of snogging. Soon after leaving the great hall, she spotted him leaning against the wall that lead into the Slytherin dungeons, and slowly she approached. She was able to quiet Darren down enough, that all that was left coming from his mouth were hiccups.

"I don't understand you, Granger." He muttered. He didn't even have to look up to know it was her that was approaching. Walking along dark corridors at night with only the sound of yours and your partners footsteps tends to help you recognize their foot steps. He didn't like that he had gotten so upset over something so stupid. He was usually the one going behind the back and talking someone down. It was never supposed to be Granger who did that. Stupid mudblood.

"I'm a complex person." She answered, her guard going up. She could sense name calling about to ensue and she was preparing herself. She wanted to apologize for speaking so crudely of him before, but her pride kept her quiet as she watched his demeanor change from cold and stiff to. . . well, she couldn't really figure out the look that was crossing his face now. It was a mix between scheming, and a sudden softness. Draco then smirked, as a new thought popped into his head. He had promised to get her out of her knickers by Christmas ball, and getting her riled up and fighting with her was not going to help his cause, no matter how much he wanted to tell her off right now.

He sighed, looking up at her. "I just don't like this bloody stop and go thing that we are doing. One moment you want me, the next your talking about what a 'twit' I am. But, I don't want to fight anymore, I liked how we were before, just a few hours ago. So, I'm just going to ignore what I walked up on you saying about me, and let it slide this time. Because I guarantee you, I've said a whole lot worse about you many times before." He said, though his words weren't causing her to soften, as he had expected. If anything they were only fueling the fire that ignited her rage.

"You're going to let it slide?" Hermione laughed incredulously. "See this is part of my problem with you, Malfoy. You think everything is your decision, that I don't get a say in anything. Maybe I don't want it to slide. Maybe I want to have a fight with you. To get all the yelling and screaming out now. That way I don't have to hear about it later from you."

"Do you? Do you want to fight with me, Hermione?" He asked, taking another small step towards her.

Her stance faltered under the use of her first name. She removed her eyes from his enticing silver orbs, looking down at the quiet baby in her arms. "Yes."

"Really?"

Hermione huffed, he wasn't supposed to gain control of this fight, that was the whole point of her rant. That he does not get to be in control. But, as he took another step towards her, she wavered, and the urge to fight with him left her completely. For now, that is.

"No, I don't." She finally replied, her voice just above a whisper.

"That's what I thought. Now, can we please go back to how we were?" He asked, lifting her chin up with one hand, as he used the other to brush her hair behind her ear. Hermione then caved, closing the gap between them and leaning into him as he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was slow, and the baby between the inhibited him from being able to pull her as close to him as he wanted to. Draco smiled into the kiss, realizing he had just won a fight with Hermione Granger. Though this wasn't surprising. He was Draco Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy always got what he wanted.

Hermione pulled away first, taking a step back. "Well, I need to get back to the boys . . . They probably think I've murdered you, and I need to go let them down and tell them there is no need for a celebration . . .Yet." She said, smirking. Draco gawked at her, winning for just a minute still counted as winning. . . Didn't it?

"Oh please, this school would not be the same with out me. You'd all mourn over the loss." He said, putting his hand to the small of her back as he lead them back towards the Great Hall.

"You're right. What would we do with out such superiority in this school?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"I know I am. I'm always right." He said, choosing to ignore her sarcasm as they came to the large doors.

"I'll see you later, Malfoy." She said, rolling her eyes as he adjusted Darren in her arms, who was now sleeping easily. She took another step into the hall before she was turned around, by the hand on her arm.

He kissed her again, in the shadow of the door so that their classmates wouldn't see. She sighed, pulling back from him her eyes meeting his. "You've got to stop doing that." She scolded quietly.

"Why?"

"Because, it's still a little weird for me. Enjoyable.. but strange." She explained, she could sense onlookers now.

"Well then, you need more practice to get used to it." He smirked, before pulling her into another slow kiss. He was just as aware of the onlookers as she was, but he figured this would embarrass her enough to make up for giving up a fight. Even though, he wasn't quite sure why this was embarrassing her. If anything, her reputation was going through the roof right now, it was his that was taking some major hit points.

Hermione pulled back again, this time her cheeks were a bright red as she looked up at him, keeping her gaze anywhere but the great hall. "Great, thanks. Now I've got to go face everyone." She glared, though her tone was still light. She left him standing behind, watching her saunter her way into the Great Hall. For being so embarrassed, she sure did know how to pull off that 'Self righteous' walk. She was spending far too much time around him.

Harry was laughing as she walked up, his baby back in his arms and Ginny a few seats down talking to Pavarti. "Well Hermione, you sure told him." He joked, he had been one of the many onlookers to their kiss. Hermione glared, her eyes silencing him.

"We got into an argument. Sort of. It was weird. It wasn't even a real argument. If anything it was a compromise. I was kind of disappointed. " She said, laughing quietly.

"Compromises are improvements. I'm impressed." Harry said, looking over at Ron who was too busy arguing with Pavarti from across the table about the ginger child in his arms.

"Well, we're getting somewhere. Oh, did I tell you the news? The ministry is so concerned about us hating the other that besides keeping the baby for six months, we also have to share a room, and a bed. While Darren takes my room as his nursery." She said, taking a bite of the roll she had placed on her plate earlier.

"Isn't that kinda irresponsible...?" Harry asked slowly in confusion.

"What do you mean?" It was Hermione's turn to be confused now.

"Well, telling two hormonal teenagers to share a room and a bed . . . They really are trying to get the wizarding population to increase, aren't they?" Harry said, laughing.

Hermione glared, "That's disgusting Harry. I can barely stand kissing the twit, can't imagine... shagging him." She lied. She actually found the snogging far more enjoyable that she would ever admit to anyone besides Draco. Though, shagging wasn't even a part of her conscious yet. I mean, sure he was a very appealing guy, and the rumors were that he was fabulous in the sack, but Hermione had no urge, well at the moment anyway, to sleep with him.

Harry continued to laugh, "I'm was just stating that it is a very irresponsible thing for the ministry to do. I didn't say you would actually shag him." He smirked. Hermione rolled her eyes once more, and stood up.

"I'm going back to my dorm, Darren needs to be put down. Have a good night." She said, turning and beginning to walk away slowly.

"Alright. Have fun tonight, Mione." He called, receiving another cold glare that sent him into a fit of laughter.

"Back so soon? You just can't stand being away from me, can you, Granger?" He asked as soon as she stepped through the portrait hole. He was currently lounged on the sofa in front of the fire place writing in what she assumed was the class journal. She rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

"Darren was tired, and I wanted to come back and take a shower." She explained, walking past the couch and up the stairs to her old bedroom. She laid Darren down for the night, kissing his head before walking into _their_ bedroom and going to what she presumed was her dresser and pulling out shorts and a tank top, along with fresh undergarments to put on after her shower.

Her shower was short, for she was almost to tired to even stand up. Though, the warm water felt wonderful, and it pained her to leave it. It was putting her to sleep, and the last thing she wanted was for Draco to find her naked in the shower.

She put on her clothes and brushed out her hair, deciding to let it dry wet for the night. She walked out the door and leaned over the railing that looked down at the common room. "I'm going to bed, Draco." She called, and he looked up at his voice.

"Alright, I'll be up soon." He replied, not taking his eyes off of the journal in front of him as he finished up the passage. Hermione watched him for a second before turning around and entering the warm room again. She climbed under the covers, instantly sighing under the warmth and comfort of the bed. At least if she had to share a bed with Draco, it was a comfortable one.

Twenty minutes later Hermione heard the creaking of foot steps across the hard wood floor as he made to his dresser to grab a pair of dark green sleep pants, and fresh boxers before quietly going into the bathroom and taking a quick shower.

Ten minutes later he emerged, freshly showered, and hair still wet. He once again made it quietly around the room to the opposite side of the bed, climbing in carefully, still under the impression that she was asleep.

"You smell good." She whispered, opening her eyes. She had always loved the way the bathroom would smell when he finished his showers, the smell of that cologne body wash he used always remained in the bathroom after he showered which was why she normally didn't mind taking a shower after him. But, the smell on his body was far more intoxicating, especially with him so close with out a shirt on.

He turned towards her, "I thought you were asleep." He whispered. There was something about that dark that always made them speak in hushed tones, even when patrolling.

"I was for a little bit. Until you came to take your shower, and the floor started creaking with each footstep." She replied, her eyes straining to see him in the cloudy moonlight. It was still raining out side, but softly so the moon wasn't as bright and clear as normal.

"Sorry." He mused, laughing lightly. She smelt like strawberries and vanilla, a wonderful mix. Her shampoo was strawberry scented, he had found that out earlier in the year when he saw her shampoo and body wash in the shower. Her body wash on the other hand was this sweet vanilla, that when inhaled it, it made you hungry.

"It's alright." She whispered, and he unexpectedly pulled her a little closer to his body, though they were both laying on their sides facing the other.

"Good night, Hermione." He whispered, pressing his lips down to hers, not giving her a chance to say goodnight before she was caught up in the heated kiss.

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**AN:**

**Well, there you go. Expect drama for the next chapter. Which I won't be able to post till next week, because I am so busy this weekend. Anyway, thank you all for the wonderful reviews, and please, keep them coming. I can't tell you how happy I get when I see a new review. It encourages me to write more and faster. **

**Love,**

**Lindsey**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **

**So, I know I promised you an update last week, but my brother had surgery to remove his tonsils, and anyone who has been through that knows just how painful it is. So I spent the week helping him, and he ended up getting an infection and everything so I just had no time to write. But, he's better now so I can write again. Woot woot. **

**Also I want to that EVERYONE for the most wonderful reviews ever. (: Chapter six received more reviews than any of my previous chapters and that thrills me. So, thank you, all of you.**

**A lot of you said that you liked how they aren't instantly romantic with each other, and a few complained in a private message that they didn't think the romance was happening fast enough. So, I have to make something clear. This is Draco and Hermione we are talking about. An instant romance is completely unrealistic. They have been enemies for years. They are not just going to jump into a love boat. Lol. It doesn't work that way. So, please, be patient if you think the romance isn't happening fast enough. These things take time. **

**Thanks again for the reviews, I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

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_**Previously on Arranged Marriage: Of a Malfoy And a Granger :**_

_"Thought you were asleep." He whispered. There was something about that dark that always made them speak in hushed tones, even when patrolling._

_"I was for a little bit. Until you came to take your shower, and the floor started creaking with each footstep." She replied, her eyes straining to see him in the cloudy moonlight. It was still raining out side, but softly so the moon wasn't as bright and clear as normal._

_"Sorry." He mused, laughing lightly. She smelt like strawberries and vanilla, a wonderful mix. Her shampoo was strawberry scented, he had found that out earlier in the year when he saw her shampoo and body wash in the shower. Her body wash on the other hand was this sweet vanilla, that when inhaled, it made you hungry._

_"It's alright." She whispered, and he unexpectedly pulled her a little closer to his body, though they were both laying on their sides facing the other._

_"Good night, Hermione." He whispered, pressing his lips down to hers, not giving her a chance to say goodnight before she was caught up in the heated kiss._

_

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Waking up to a screaming baby is never fun. Waking up to a screaming baby and a cursing Draco is even worse. Hermione had found this out that morning, pulling herself up from sleep, she rubbed her eyes and quickly shut off the baby monitor. Darren was in a mood today, she could already tell. With a sigh she removed herself from the covers and walked into Darren's room, picking up the screaming baby and trying her hardest to quiet him down.

Draco on the other hand was still cursing from the common room, and surprisingly Hermione could hear it over the screams in her ear. The fact that Draco was up and hadn't tried to help his screaming son irritated Hermione greatly, and while she made Darren's bottle her irritation only grew.

"I'm sorry your father decided to be an imbecile today." She murmured, putting the bottle to Darren's lips, who immediately grew silent as he drank. That was one head ache down. Now, for the next.

With Darren in her arms, she made her way down stairs, the cursing getting louder with each step she took. She walked in to see Draco pacing, the Daily Prophet in his hands as he read, laughing harshly at moments, cursing the next. Hermione stood back for a few moments before cautiously moving towards him.

"Draco...?" Her voice was quiet compared to the sound of his foot steps against the hard wood as he paced.

"Not now, Granger." His eyes never left the paper as he answered her.

"Yes now, Malfoy. I'd like to know why you decided to let your _son_ scream in his room rather than taking care of him." He was only causing her irritation to grow with his short responses and she was about to let him have it.

"Because of this!" He yelled, shoving the paper at her and taking Darren out of her arms so that she could read. Hermione glared at him before letting her gaze turn to the paper where she began to read the front page column written by non other than Miss. Rita Skeeter.

_**Me Myself & I :**_** Rita Skeeter**

_**Wedding Bells for the Malfoy Heir?**_

_Yesterday afternoon, Draco Malfoy, heir of the Malfoy Fortune and son of former death eater Lucious Malfoy was seen gallivanting around __Hogsmeade with a petite brunette and a small infant who held a high resemblance of Mr. Malfoy, himself. Reliable sources were said to have witnessed Mr. Malfoy and this mystery woman purchasing many baby care items and clothes._

_Mr. Draco Malfoy, a seventh year at Hogwarts, head boy, and captain of the Slytherin quidditch team seems to have been up to much more this past year than thought of. Apparently he has been secretly dating Hermione Granger, muggle born witch, war hero, and best friend of Mr. Harry Potter. We can only assume that the woman seen around Hogsmeade with Mr. Malfoy was Miss. Granger. _

_Witnesses said the pair seemed to be quite cozy with one another, and Mr. Malfoy seemed to be quite comfortable with the infant, who we assume is their child, though we have had no conformation on this. Rumors have been heard saying that Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Granger are set to wed sometime after the new year, though the date has not yet been disclosed. Our best wishes to the pair._

_I can only send out my most sincere apologies to Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Viktor Krum who in the past have been linked to dating the morally 'loose' Hermione Granger. No news as to how this news has affected the former flames._

_And as for the Malfoy Heir, will he still be allowed the family fortune after muddying the family blood line with a muggle born witch and their half blood child?_

_You can count on __**Me, Myself, & I**__ to get the answer. _

_Until next time,_

_Rita Skeeter_

Hermione shoved the paper onto the table, glaring up at the smirking man in front of her. Apparently seeing her mad at anyone besides him gave him enough pleasure to forget about being angry himself.

"Loose? She told the world I am morally 'Loose?'" Hermione screeched, stamping her foot. If she were observing herself from an outsiders position, as Draco was, she would see just how ridiculous she looked stamping her foot like an angry child. "That little toad of a woman. I swear, I'm going to march right down to her office and give her a piece of my mind." If one was able to steam at the ears when mad, it was clear that Hermione would be doing so right now.

"That's not the worse part, Granger. She announced to the world who you are and that we're getting married. My mother is going to kill me." He said, wiping away some of the milk that had escaped Darren's lips and trailed down the side of his cheek.

"No Malfoy, she said rumors were so. She had no facts, and she stated that. But she did confirm that I am a morally 'loose' girl!" Hermione didn't really care for the fact that the wizarding world now assumed that she was engaged and had a baby with Draco Malfoy, because for the most part... That was true. But she did in fact care that her reputation was being tarnished by an ignorant, self righteous columnist who wouldn't know how to tell the truth even if drowned in a pool of Veritaserum.

"Would you get off it, Granger. Everyone knows your a prude. Just because Rita Skeeter said other wise doesn't mean they believe it. Trust me, any one who has ever met you knows you're the definition of an uptight, know-it-all, prude." Draco was mad now, and he spoke before he could really think about what he was saying to her. Why was she not freaking out that the wizarding world now knew about them? Didn't she realize how mad his mother would be that they had been so ignorant to go around town like they did.

Hermione glared, looking away from him. As much as she hated to admit it, for the first time in years one of his insults actually hurt her. Hurt her horribly. She turned away from him, walking up stairs into their room, where she quickly changed clothes, and brushed her hair and teeth. She left the room, walking past him and Darren, ignoring his insensitive questions about 'where she thought she was going', and continued her way until she made it out the door. She didn't know where she was going to go, she didn't feel like talking to the boys, or even Ginny. So, she did what every uptight, know-it-all, prude does. She went into the deepest part of the stacks in the library and began to read.

Draco watched her leave, shaking her head. He was in for it when she got back. Not wanting to stay around waiting for her heated return, Draco took the empty bottle from his son's lips and with the baby in his arms he made his way to the fireplace, and with a bit of tricky magic, opened up the floo network, and flooed himself and Darren to Malfoy Manor.

He could hear his mothers voice when he landed, and immediately an old house elf appeared before him, bowing.

"Sir, your mother is expecting you. She is waiting for you in the foyer, with Madam Daphne." He said, and vanishing with a 'pop' seconds later. Draco sighed, running his free hand through his platinum locks. Not being a large fan of flooing, Darren began to cry, his shrills getting louder with every second Draco tried to ignore them.

"I'm going to need you to stop doing that." Draco instructed, rocking Darren as he slowly began walking towards the foyer where he could hear his mothers voice talking to someone else in the room. Against his father's wishes, Darren continued to cry as they walked into the room his mother and her guest occupied, his cries silencing the conversation that had been occurring.

"Oh, Draco. I'm glad you're here." Narcissa said, standing up to greet her son, and meet her grandson for the first time. "Oh, isn't he darling." She cooed over the crying infant, her anger momentarily vanishing under the sight of 'the most darling baby she had ever seen'. She took Darren from Draco's arms, and his cries instantly calmed down. "That's better." She smiled, running a finger over the top of Darren's head.

"So, the rumors are true. You do indeed have a child." The guest spoke up from her spot on the dark leather love seat. Draco looked up at the unfamiliar voice, and shook her hand when she outstretched it.

"Draco, this is Madam Daphne. She's been helping me with your wedding plans." Narcissa introduced the pair, resuming her seat on the small seat next to the love seat, her eyes still glued to the baby in her arms.

"Nice to meet you." Draco spoke quietly, "And as for the rumors, they're only partially true. Yes, I have a child. But it's a magicked child. He'll be gone in a little less than six months. We're being required to take a parenting class at Hogwarts, as assigned by the Ministry." He explained, taking a seat on the opposite end of the love seat.

"Oh? I'm surprised I haven't heard anything of this. In fact, I hadn't heard of the marriage law until a week ago. The ministry has been very hush about the whole ordeal." Her pale hands ran over her skirt as she spoke.

"Apparently so, since Rita Skeeter was compelled enough to about the news of Hermione and I." Draco agreed. His mothers head lifted, Hermione's name bringing her into the conversation.

"Where is Hermione?" Her words filled with alarm, she had suspected both Draco and Hermione to arrive, apologizing for the idiocy.

"We sort of got into a fight before I left... So, she's some where at Hogwarts, I presume." Draco admitted, causing his mother to sneer.

"Draco, you can not raise a child well that is surrounded by hostility. You two really need to get a handle on the fighting." Narcissa scolded, adjusting Darren so that she could sit more comfortably.

"It's not my fault, mother. She was more upset about the fact that Skeeter called her a loose girl, than she was about the fact that we had been outed to the world. And when I told her that she was being insolent about it, and that she should really be concerned about the fact that we were no longer secret. . . She stormed off." He chose not to tell his mother what was actually said by him, knowing it would get him quite the long lecture about being a gentlemen.

"Well, I can understand where she would be upset with that. A woman's reputation means a lot, and to have it besmirched publicly is quite an embarrassment." Madam Daphne spoke up, pulling her purse into her lap as she was preparing to leave.

"She's right, Draco. While it is not good that you two were outed, what she said about Hermione was far worse than just romanticized rumors about your son and your marriage." Narcissa agreed, standing to walk Madam Daphne to the door. "Thank you so much for coming over today, same time tomorrow? The Christmas Ball and the wedding are only a few short months away. We really need to get everything in order." Opening the front door for Madam Daphne.

"Very well. Nice meeting you Draco. I look forward to meeting Miss. Granger. I'll see you soon." And with that and a small smile, she stepped onto the front porch and vanished.

Closing the door, Narcissa turned back to her son. "You need to go back to Hogwarts and work this all out with Hermione." She spoke, handing Darren to his father, and once again he began crying. "And please let her know her mother said to tell her Hello. I've been in contact with her recently, discussing wedding plans. She also wants to meet her grand son, so you should plan a trip to their home soon. Or maybe we could have a large dinner here, and let the families meet." Narcissa said, smiling as she ignored her son's confused look.

"You . . . talked to muggles? Are you sure father would even allow them in the house?" Draco asked skeptically, bouncing Darren gently.

"Don't act so surprised. And as for your father, I will deal with him. You just go work things out with Hermione and I'll be in contact and let you know when the big dinner is." Waving her hand in dismissal. Draco nodded, and turned heading back to the fire place where he flooed back to the empty common room, Hermione no where in sight.

She had stayed in the stacks most of the afternoon, listening to clansmen who would walk past and snicker when they saw her, most with a Daily Prophet in their hands. She tried drying her tear-stained cheeks as she made her way out of the library and up the stairs towards the common room where she was hoping Draco wouldn't be. She had spent her entire day in the library, now only returning since it was after dinner. Her robes were disheveled, and her hair quite unruly from running her hands in it, and she was sure her eyes were red from the amount of crying she had done. Finally she made it into the room, after ignoring several glances and a few crude jokes from fifth year slytherins. All she wanted to do was take a shower, and go to bed. Maybe even cursing Draco with boils in the process, still having not forgave him for his rude comments.

Walking in, she wasn't surprised to hear Darren crying and Draco trying his hardest to get him to calm down. "He probably just needs his diaper changed." Hermione spoke, causing Draco to look up at the announcement of her presence.

"Hermione." He said softly, his voice full of relief.

"You can change it. I'm taking a shower." She said, storming past him and up the stairs towards the bathroom.

"I don't know how to change a damn diaper!" He called after her.

"Not my problem, Malfoy. Figure it out." And with that she slammed the bathroom door behind her and started her shower.

Draco glowered at the door, before taking his son up to the bright nursery and laying him down on the changing table where he continued to cry. He looked around for another diaper, and the case of wipes that he had seen Hermione use before. Once he found what he was looking for, he slowly approached his upset son, setting the items down next to his head.

"Alright, lets see how this is done..." He said slowly, biting his lower lip as he maneuvered the dirty diaper off of his son. "Bloody Hell, that's unholy. What the hell is in the bottles we're giving you." Draco grimaced, tossing the diaper in the trash can.

Hermione could hear Draco from her place in the warm shower, she laughed quietly as she listened to him change a dirty diaper for the first time. Serves him right.

Draco took what he presumed was the wipe's and wiped his son's butt, grimacing and cursing the whole time. This is the work of a House Elf, not a job for a Malfoy. It didn't matter what Hermione said, when they were married, they were keeping the house elves for jobs like these.

He dressed his son in a new diaper and a small, soft onsie before laying him down for a much needed nap. He had been fussing all day, and Draco could only assume that he was in need of a long nap. Or so, he hoped. He couldn't take much more of the constant crying. After laying him down, Draco walked into his room, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt it seemed he as well needed a nap. He threw his tie and shirt across the room, landing on the couch in front of the fire place. With a long, exasperated sigh he fell onto the bed, his eye lids feeling heavy. He was dreading class tomorrow, and the dark arts essay he had to finish tonight, after patrols.

Hermione emerged from the shower, pleased to hear that her son was quiet. She wrapped a towel around her body before walking out of the bathroom and into her bedroom and towards the wardrobe.

Draco opened his eyes at the sound of the bathroom door opening and her foot steps making their way through the room. He glanced over at her, instantly smirking when he saw he lack of clothes, and wet body. The towel hung loosely around her as she bent down to get something from the bottom of the wardrobe.

"Thanks for the show, Granger."

Hermione bolted up, her hand going to the towel to hold it to her. "I thought you were in the nursery." She responded, ignoring the suggestive smile he was currently wearing.

"Oh, please, continue." He waved her on.

"I think not. I am far too much of a prude to ever be a tease." She smirked, grabbing her clothes before walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and leaving a speechless Draco still lying on the bed. He scoffed, closing his eyes once more. Apparently she was trying to make a point that he had offended her. Though he wasn't quite she why she was acting so hurt, it wasn't the first time they had ever offended each other. And he was positive it wouldn't be the last, for it was too fun fighting with her.

She came out only minutes later, her still wet and sticking to her but instead of a towel, she wore long yoga pants and a Gryffindor sweat shirt. It seemed as if she was covering as much skin as she possibly could. Now it was truly more than obvious that she was trying to make a point. She climbed into the bed, switching on the baby monitor that she had turned off earlier that morning. She put as much space between herself and Draco as she could, stuffing two pillows and part of the covers between the two of them.

"Granger, what is this?" Draco sighed, looking over as he watched her keep her distance from him.

"This is a boarder. Do not cross it. This side.." She pointed to where she was laying, "is my side. That, is yours." She now pointed to where he was sitting up, giving her an incredulous look. She smirked at him before falling back and tucking herself under the covers, turning her back to him. He moved to pull the pillows from between them, only to be swatted away by her hand.

"No, they stay." She insisted, glaring at the blond laying next to her.

"Granger, this really isn't necessary." He said, and once again began pulling the pillows from between them. She didn't stop him, but she did slap at his hand once more when he tried to pull her to him after removing the pillows. "God, Granger. Would you come off it, already?" He murmured.

"No, Malfoy. I won't. Since I'm such a prude there will be no more touching, kissing, or holding of me at all. I wouldn't want to hurt my prudish image." She retorted, her voice staying surprisingly even and calm. With a sigh Draco turned onto his back, his hands going behind his head as he stared up at the canopy above them.

"I didn't mean anything by it, Hermione. It was just a heated argument. Not like it was our first one. And, I've called you far worse things than a prude." He mumbled, his eyes only glancing over to see if she was responding to his words. When he noticed no movement he continued to speak. "I was just worried that everyone would know, and my mother would have my neck for letting it slip up that we are a . . . 'we', before the official announcement." He saw her turn to face him from the corner of his eye and took this as encouragement to continue groveling.

"And she shouldn't have said those things about you. I'll handle it, I'll release a statement saying that we are just friends, and that you have never had any relations with either Harry or Viktor."

Hermione smiled, shaking her head at him. "You don't have to do that. You had a point earlier, sort of. People do know me, and they know my character. I honestly think your words bugged me more than hers." She hated the way he could make her give in so easily. When the hell did that start happening? Thinking of this, she wanted to return to her former stance of ignoring him, but it was already to late, for he was already wearing his trade mark smirk.

"Do not go getting all boastful now. Just because I said you had a point, does not mean I forgive for saying those things about me." Somehow his arm had already found it's way around her shoulder and was pulling her closer. "No. I said no touching." She corrected him, glaring at his hand that was resting on the top of her arm. With a sigh, he let her go, but his arm still hung loosely behind her on the pillows.

"Fine, I have to go do patrols anyway, you can stay here with Darren." Draco said, moving to get up, only to get stopped by Hermione's hand on his forearm.

"We don't have to do patrols anymore. At least, not while we have the baby." Draco looked at her quizzically, but returned to his former position. "I talked to Dumbledore today, he found me hiding in the library. He said the professors would take over our nightly patrolling duties until Darren is gone. The think it's too risky to patrol with a baby in tow. You never know what you may come across."

Draco smiled, anything that got him out of doing work thrilled him. "Fine by me."

"Of course it is. I was quite disappointed, though. I enjoy my evening patrols." Hermione frowned, pulling the covers off of her. In long yoga pants, and a sweat shirt, it was far too warm for a large blanket to be covering her. Draco laughed quietly at her, taking the time to look over her atrocious and unflattering outfit.

"Granger, please explain to me what you are wearing. I haven't seen you in this much clothes since fourth year when you tried to hide your . . . developments." Hermione blushed under his words, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was trying to make a very prudish point." She mumbled.

"Trust me, you succeeded." He smirked, yet he had never been more turned on by her, even when she walked in with only a towel on. Though, that was quite the sight that he wouldn't mind seeing again.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but allowed him to lean down and press his lips to hers, this becoming their new nightly ritual. Her hands went to his hair, like they do every time his kisses her and she allowed him to lower his hands to her hips, where he pulled her to him, allowing himself to hover over her.

"You know you're still a prude though, right?" He whispered, kissing her between words.

"Yeah. I know."

His dark arts essay was quickly forgotten about, and pushed away from his mind until early the next morning. But Hermione stood her ground and stayed true to her prudish ways all night.

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**-Drum roll-**

**So, I am actually really pleased with the way this chapter came out. The Rita Skeeter letter took me a long time to write, cause I just wasn't sure how I wanted it to sound. But I think I figured it out. Ha, and this is like the third chapter I've ended with them going to bed, kissing goodnight. Sappy. But oh well. It's just where the story leads me. **

**So, I hoped you loved it. And please, please, please review. I can't tell you how much it means to me to read all of your comments!**

**Love, **

**Lindsey**


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN:**_

**Sorry? I let time slip out from under me. And a few of you who have contacted me, and I've responded to some of you about the story and about the unplanned hiatus I took. I've had most of this chapter written since June. But after taking care of my Grandmother for the past two years, she got really sick at the end of June, and eventually passed on August 25th. We were extremely close, and this had been very hard to go through. So, I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get this to you. But with everything going on, I had no time to write, and I didn't have the urge either. I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I just couldn't write. Today is exactly one month since she passed, and I'm still at a loss. **

**I love you all, and thanks for the constant support. **

**I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I can't wait for the next, because it's going to be my favorite to write, so far! **

**Love,**

**Lindsey**

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_**Previously on Arranged Marriage: Of a Malfoy And a Granger :** _

_Hermione rolled her eyes, but allowed him to lean down and press his lips to hers, this becoming their new nightly ritual. Her hands went to his hair, like they do every time his kisses her and she allowed him to lower his hands to her hips, where he pulled her to him, allowing himself to hover over her._

_"You know you're still a prude though, right?" He whispered, kissing her between words._

_"Yeah. I know."_

_His dark arts essay was quickly forgotten about, and pushed away from his mind until early the next morning. But Hermione stood her ground and stayed true to her prudish ways all night._

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A month had passed since Rita's editorial on Draco and Hermione, and not a word was published about the pair since. Apparently there was no need for Draco to handle the Rita situation, for his mother beat him to it. Though he appreciated the action, he (with out admittance,of course) was looking forward to being the 'hero' for once.

Darren was rapidly growing, now sporting the look of a two month old, compared to his slightly new-born look of before. He had adjusted to a normal routine of naps and feeding times, but he had still refused to sleep through out the night. His chestnut hair was slightly longer, yet still pen straight. And thankfully, unlike most babies, he didn't loose his hair during his first month. But, Darren wasn't the only thing that had grown, so had Draco and Hermione's relationship.

Draco had now acquired the knowledge to know when to stop talking when Hermione was upset. Though, just because he knew when to stop talking, didn't mean that he had the ability to. Though, it was the same with her as well. They continuously pushed the other closer to edge, all the while the banter became far more easy and playful than before. And they touched, _a lot._

Most of the time it was subconscious, unbeknown to either of them, until the looked down and they noticed their hands touching, or their sides touching from sitting so close together while lounging on the couch and reading. They didn't mean to do it, yet they had become so used to each others presence that they only were really bothered by the touching half the time, compared to their previous no-tolerance-for-touching at all times. And though neither would reveal their feelings for the other, they each referred to the other as their fiancee or 'boy/girl friend'. Which seemed to suite them both just fine.

Now, it was only two weeks from the grand Christmas Ball at the Malfoy Manor. Invitations had been sent out last week, and now Hermione was being forced into a dressing room by her future mother-in-law and her mother, with four dresses from the most expensive wizard boutique in London. Darren had been left with his father for the day, when Narcissa arrived at Hogwarts that Saturday morning, stealing Hermione from him and leaving him with no explanation and on diaper duty.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I really don't think any of these dresses are really my. . . style." Hermione said from the confinements of the lavish dressing room where she was eying the garments with distaste. They were all either rich green and large, or gaudy and awful looking. Far too extravagant for the simple Hermione.

"Oh please, dear. You've yet to learn real style." Narcissa retorted, looking over the racks on the opposite side of where Susan, Hermione's mother, was looking. Hermione grunted, frowning as she took the first one down, holding it to her body as she stared at her reflection. There was no way she would look decent in any of these dresses. But, she did as she was told and stripped herself of her worn blue jeans and large sweatshirt, which she was wearing to shield herself from the frigid winter chill.

The first gown was large and green, and boosted out around her waist as a duchess's would. It was itchy and seemed to fit around her upper body like a latex glove. While, she wasn't embarrassed by or disliked her body, she did have sense enough to tell herself when something did not look very good on her. Like this outfit, which she had found to not be very flattering. But with a forced smile, she emerged from the deep maroon curtains of the dressing room and into the viewing area where Narcissa and her mother were waiting.

"Oh, that's lovely." Narcissa said, clapping her hands once to show her enthusiasm over the dress.

"Mrs. Malfoy, this I'm sure would look lovely on you, but I'm not very comfortable. If I have to spend the night in a large gown, I'd like to feel confident. Especially if I have to deal with a room full of people staring at me when we announce our engagement." Hermione said, her voice almost pleading.

Narcissa nodded, biting her lip idly as she walked into the dressing room, pulling out the two other dresses that were in there waiting. "Maybe you have a point, I'll try to find something a little more simple, but still ravishingly elegant." And with a sparkle in her gray eyes she made her way back into the boutique in search of more gowns.

"Speaking of engagement, how is Draco? I haven't seen you two since the dinner at the Malfoy's last month." Susan said, watching her daughter's reflection in the large mirror.

"He's well. He's taking care of Darren right now." Hermione answered, turning to face her mother with a wide grin. Her mother was still under the impression that Hermione and Draco were pleased with their engagement, the only problem was that Hermione wasn't so sure anymore if their _façade_ of happiness was just an act.

"That's nice. And the two of you, you're both still happy with all of this?" Susan questioned, standing up from where she had been sitting on a near by couch. Hermione nodded, refusing to voice her answer. Because in fact, that had been a question she was asking herself a lot, recently. Was she happy? Sure, she smiled more and he made her laugh more than she thought was possible, and the closer they got the more she could see a promising future for them . . . But, was she happy? The answer seemed to elude her as her future mother-in-law reentered the viewing room.

"Alright, I've got two more dresses that I thought you might like a bite more." She lifted the rather large gowns up, showing them to both Hermione and Susan. "What do you think?" She urged, holding a crimson red dress closer to her than the large yellow one. Hermione wanted to groan in distaste, but she didn't want to upset Narcissa. Just as she was about to agree to try the red gown on, she spotted it.

The perfect dress.

It hung on a hanger against the far end of the store, against a wall. Long, strapless, and elegant in a creamy white, it looked snug on the chest, but flowed out from the waist. Gold and silver sequin covered the chest and made a trails down the dress to the thigh. The gown was a flowing floor length gown that instantly took Hermione's breath away.

"What about that one...?" Hermione questioned, walking past Narcissa and the two horrid gowns and towards the dress she was eying. She stood on her tip-toes, pulling the dress off of the hook it hung on and brought it back into the viewing room.

"Hermione, that's lovely." Susan gushed, picking up the bottom of the dress and eying the detail put into it.

"I suppose that would be suitable. But you never know till you try it on.." Narcissa said, still upset that all of her choices had been frowned upon and tossed aside. She had great taste, and couldn't understand how Hermione and her muggle mother couldn't see that.

Hermione smiled and took the dress into the dressing room, behind the curtain. She rid herself of the awful dress she had put on before and replaced it with the new one. It slid on easily, molding to her body perfectly. She turned and admired herself in the mirror, the low back dipped all the way down to the bottom of her spine, but was still modest enough. Though, she couldn't very well go outside that night, or else it would be frightfully cold. With a content sigh she stepped back out into the viewing room where gasp were heard.

"Hermione dear, you look stunning." Her mother expressed, as Hermione emerged.

"Well, this does suit you quite well.." Narcissa added in as she circled Hermione, appraising her. "I think you have found the perfect dress." She now smiled, taking a step away from her so that Hermione could look at herself in the full length mirror.

"I think I might have." Hermione agreed, and within the hour she had said goodbye to her mother and her Narcissa, who had shipped the dress back to the manor, and was on her way back to Darren and Draco.

* * *

"Hermione! Thank Merlin your hear, I think he is sick..." Draco said, as soon as Hermione walked through the portrait door.

"Hello to you too. Yes, Draco, I had a swell time. Thanks for asking." She retorted, but her sarcasm went over Draco's head as he handed their son to her. Hermione sighed and brought her hand to Darren's head.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, wasn't she supposed to be helping him? How was putting her hand on his forehead going to do anything?

"I'm checking his temperature. He seems a little warm. He might have a fever." Hermione said, biting her lower lip as she removed her hand from his head.

"How could you tell his temperature with just your hand? OH, No way! Have you already mastered wandless magic?" Draco asked, now almost completely unconcerned for her son's health.

"No, Draco. It's a muggle technique used for feeling if someone is running a fever. If their head feels warmer than usual, than they most likely have a temperature." Hermione was now grabbing a blanket to wrap around her son from the couch. She needed to take him to Madam Pomfrey.

"Well, how do you know their 'usual' temperature?" Draco asked, following Hermione out the portrait. Sometimes he really could be exceedingly daft.

"Draco, could you please stop with the questions. It's common knowledge of the average human temperature. Now, please, hush. I've had a long day of brutal shopping with your mother and mine. The next time, and only time I will ever go shopping for a gown again will be my wedding gown." She complained, speeding up her step with her son in her arms.

"Oh? Did you find a suitable gown for the Christmas Ball?"

"Maybe." Hermione responded. She planned on blowing him away when she made her entrance, and wanted to give him no hints before hand. What so ever. They entered the hospital wing to find it surprisingly empty, only the sound of the large clock tower could be heard throughout the large room.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione called out, her hand going to the back of her son's head as she leaned him against her shoulder. The large lady emerged from the back room, frowning when she saw the pair and their young one.

"The program isn't over, dears. You'll have to wait to turn him in." She said, her hands going to her hips as if she had been interrupted from something very important.

"I think he's sick. He feels warm to the touch and he's very grumpy." Hermione said, holding Darren out to the nurse in front of her.

Madam Pomfry frowned and felt his head, causing Draco to throw his arms in the air with defeat. Was he the only one who didn't know about this oh-so-common technique?

"I think you might be right. Seems like a simple cold. Nothing a little medicine won't cure." She said, conjuring up a two smile veils of green liquid. "You'll need to give him one after supper and then the other when he wakes up in the morning. Mix it in with his bottle because you won't be able to get him to drink it plain. It's utterly awful." She instructed, now handing Darren to Draco and the veils to Hermione.

"Thank you." They said and unison before they were ushered out of the wing and back to their dorms. The pair did as they were told, feeding Darren his supper and then giving him the first vile mixed in a small bottle.

"So, how did the shopping trip actually go?" Draco asked, climbing into bed. They had given Darren his bath, and laid him down and now they were both exhausted enough to finally succumb to sleep.

"It was fine. Your mothers taste is just. . . _delightful_" Hermione was careful with her words, tucking her legs under the covers as she settled onto her pillow.

"I note the sarcasm." Draco muttered, reaching at the lamp, turning it off. Hermione laughed, turning on her side to face him. Once again they were touching, this time on purpose. Draco draped his arm across her waist, pulling her body to his. It seemed as if he could no longer sleep any other way than with her cuddled up in his arms. He of course, being Draco, would never admit this.

"What about you? How was your day with Darren, besides him being sick." She asked, lifting her head from the crook of his neck as to look at him.

"Well, aside from him spitting up on me twice, and being left on diaper duty. We had fun. I think he likes me more than you." Draco said smugly, smirking down at her. Hermione smacked at his chest, glaring at him.

"If he liked you so much he wouldn't have spit up on you."

"Oh, he only did that when I said 'Mommy.'" Draco lied, choking back the laughter when he looked at Hermione's shocked face. As if she was actually falling for his words. He rolled his eyes, and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I'm only pulling your rope, love." He whispered, still laughing quietly. Hermione smiled, leaning up and pressing her lips against his which in response Draco turned them over, hovering above her teasingly.

"No, Draco." She whispered, shaking her head, her hands going to his shoulders to push him away gently.

"Oh, live a little, Granger." He leaned in to kiss her, only for her to turn her head and his lips end up at the base of her ear. Hermione sighed, but shook her head, trying to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry. But you'll have to wait a few more months." She said, biting her lip. She had made a self promise not to sleep with Draco until after they were married, but seeing him shirtless and hovering over her, his lips at her ear and neck. . . It was hard to keep this promise.

"Please?"

Hermione laughed, "Did you actually just say 'Please'? Since when do you beg?" Her laughter was stopped when his lips returned to her neck. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from voicing her appreciation.

"I haven't had sex in months, Granger. This is killing me." He groaned.

"You seem to be breathing fine to me."

Draco smirked, "I might be. . . But you won't be in just a few minutes." He pressed a kiss to her lips as his hands trailed down to her waist, tugging at her shorts.

"Malfoy, no. We're not doing this." She said, and finally pushed him off of her. "You'll just have to rely on your right hand a little while longer." It was her turn to smirk as his cheeks turned red.

He huffed, rolling over. "Goodnight, Granger."

"Goodnight, Draco." Hermione smiled, turning her back to him as she made herself comfortable. Draco pulled her against him, once again, because there was no way he was going to sleep unless she was in his arms. He took a deep breath as she settled against him and let sleep take them both.

* * *

The next morning Hermione woke up late, the sun streaming through the windows being her out of her dreams and into reality. She opened her eyes, expecting to find Draco next to her, ready to make fun of her for her bed head. But instead, the bed was empty and cold. She looked over at the clock next to her bed. It was after ten, already. She sighed, and climbed out of bed, grimacing as she felt the cold floor against her bare feet. It was obvious that this winter was going to be a wretched one.

She slipped on a robe and walked into the bathroom where she quickly pulled her hair back and brushed her teeth, then preceded to wash her face. She sighed, still trying to wake herself up as she walked towards Darren's room, where she could hear the distinct sound of Draco's voice. She slowly cracked the door, as to not disturb the pair.

"You're Daddy's little man, aren't ya?" Draco cooed over the smiling child as he changed Darren's diaper. Hermione wanted to laugh, but kept herself quiet. Who knew Draco would ever coo over a baby? That was completely out of character for the stone-cold Slytherin. Draco picked his son up, raising him up above his head, causing the child to smile once more. Draco smiled, bringing him back down and pressing him against his chest as he threw away the dirty diaper.

Hermione opened the door wider, leaning against the frame of it. "You know, your going to be a really good father." She whispered, causing Draco to turn towards her.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. You're good with him." She smiled, walking towards him and taking Darren from him to say 'good morning' to him.

"Oh, so now you're saying we will have kids?" Draco crossed his arms, smirking.

"That was already part of our deal. I want kids, and you want an heir. We both get what we want." She said, making a silly face at the little boy in her arms.

"Well you do know where babies come from. . . Don't you, Granger?" He asked.

"Haven't we already been through this, Draco. I know, they come from sex." Her eyes were now up at him, since he refused to let her focus on Darren.

"So _now_ you're all gun-ho for sex?" He smirked, leaning against the crib. Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You're still upset about last night, I see." She raised an eyebrow at him before turning and walking out of the room and into the common room to get a bottle and the last vile of medicine. Draco followed her, laughing as she swayed her hips to tease him. After mixing the medicine with his milk, they both sat down on the large couch, Draco handing Darren to Hermione. His arm immediately went around her, sitting as close to her as possible. It wouldn't be long until he could no longer hold back those three little words from escaping his lips.

"I forgot to tell you, your mother wants us to come to her house today. Something about a Madam Daphne. I couldn't really comprehend because she had me in a corset that was so tight I couldn't breath. I was lacking oxygen to the brain." Hermione said, putting the bottle to Darren's mouth. Her words bringing Draco back into reality, putting a quizzing look on his face.

"Why? Weren't you just with her yesterday?" He asked, though he was picturing that tight little corset in his mind, more than he was actually paying attention to the blooming conversation. Hermione rolled her eyes, either the whole 'connection' that the ministry talked about was starting to work, or she was spending far too much time with him. Because, she could almost see what was going on in his head.

"Just go take a shower and get dressed, while I feed him and get him ready." Hermione instructed, rolling her eyes playfully at him. He smirked, and leaned into kiss her cheek.

"So, did you get that corset?"

"GO!"

* * *

An hour later they were ready to leave Hogwarts, and head to the manor. Draco once again did his tricky magic and opened the floo network, stepping inside the fire place, along with Hermione and Darren. He dropped the powder, and instructed where to take them and before they could blink they were standing in the fire place in the foyer of Malfoy Manor. Darren began to scream, still not a fan of flooing.

"Oh yeah, I should have warned you. He hates flooing." Draco said, brushing off his shoulders as he stepped out of the fire place and waited for Hermione to follow. She slowly quieted Darren and stepped out behind Draco, who stopped her by putting his hand on her arm.

"Wait." He pointed at her cheek.

"What? What's on my face?" Hermione asked, bringing her hand to her cheek to wipe, only making the soot stain spread across her face. Draco choked back a laugh.

"Nothing, you got it. Come on." He smirked, taking her free hand and leading them into sun room, where his mother and Daphne were currently speaking.

The three entered the room, Draco smirking like a fool and Hermione still trying to get Darren to stop his whines. Apparently the floo system made him feel ill. Draco's mother and Madam Daphne looked up when they heard them walk in, both giving Hermione a very odd look.

"I'm glad you three could make it. . " Narcissa said, taking Darren from Hermione, her eyes still on the ash that was spread across her face. "Hermione, dear. You might want to go use the washroom." She whispered, pointing to a door that was at the far left corner of the room. Hermione looked at her quizzically, but did as she was told and rushed over to the door, closing it behind her. She could hear Draco's laughter the moment the door closed, and she knew that he had something do with this. She looked up at herself in the mirror only to see a large soot stain spread across most of her right cheek.

"Well, isn't that just great." She muttered, reaching for a rag. She cleaned herself up, and moments later a fresh, soot-less Hermione walked out of the washroom.

"Aw, you looked much better the other way, love." Draco said, his eyes full of laughter as he tried to maintain a straight face.

"Oh, I agree. I'm so glad I have a fiancee that points these things out to me." She said sarcastically, and joined him on the small love seat across from Madam Daphne and Narcissa, who still had Darren in her arms. Draco smirked, his arm resting behind her on the back of the chair.

"Hermione, this is Madam Daphne. She's been assisting me in planning the ball and your wedding." Narcissa said, introducing the pair.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss. Granger." She smiled at Hermione before turning to Narcissa, "It appears we have a lot of work to do before the ball." She said in a hushed tone, though Hermione could hear her clearly, and was slightly offended.

"And what work is that?" Hermione spoke up, her eyes almost daring Madam Daphne to insult her directly.

"Well dear, your posture for one. It's atrocious. You can't possibly make a grand entrance or walk down the aisle, slouching like a gorilla." Daphne started, standing up and approaching Hermione to get a better look at her. Hermione huffed, but sat up straighter.

"And that hair. . . Well have to do something about that." She bit her lip, looking at the pony tail of wild hair. Hermione hadn't tried to tame it this morning, like she usually did. Big mistake.

"Anything else? How about my body? Or my face?" Hermione said sarcastically.

"Well your body is exquisite, perfect shape, but only if you sit up straight. As for your face, you hold natural beauty my dear, but in the world of high class wizards, you look plain. You'll have to spice up your appearance with make up. You know, enhance your features." Madam Daphne returned to her seat.

"But, in all respect,that's not who I am. I don't wear lots of make up. I've always been told I look fine with out it. Besides, my skin is much clearer because I don't." Hermione tried to defend herself. She didn't like just sitting there and getting picked apart. Draco laughed, the first sound he had made since they had sat down.

"Mother, I think Hermione believes you two are insulting her." He laughed quietly and Hermione glared over at him.

"Oh no, dear. We're not insulting you. If that is how you want to look when your alone, that's fine. But when it comes to the ball or the wedding, you will be presentable. Madam Daphne and I will make sure of that. As for now, you both can leave, and Hermione you can come over tomorrow to start your lessons on becoming a Malfoy." Narcissa stood, handing Darren over to Draco.

"Lessons?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, it takes a lot of work to be a Malfoy. And I can only believe it will be harder for a muggle-born." His mother said, trying her hardest not to offend her. "I just mean, you have to learn to act like a lady. Sitting up straight, smiling, remembering everyone's name who comes to your balls, and you must make conversation with each person. You must be a good host. It is a lot of work dear, and I hope you're up for it." She finished.

Hermione sighed, that was not the way she wanted to spend the day after school, but she didn't want to upset Narcissa, and quietly agreed as she followed Draco to the fire place. Narcissa gave each a hug goodbye and watched them disappear into the fire place.

They returned home, Hermione falling back onto the couch with a sigh.

"I'm going to put him down for a nap." Draco said, walking past the couch and entering Darren's room, where he laid him down before leaving and joining Hermione. "So, how mad are you?" He tested, smirking.

"About what?"

"Well, me not telling you about the dirt on your face..?" He said, almost in a question. Hermione glared, smacking at his chest as he reminded her about what he had done. He grabbed her hand, pinning it to him.

"You know, a lady doesn't hit." He teased, catching her other hand when she went to swing at him again.

"Haven't you heard, I'm not a real lady yet." She huffed, trying to pull her wrist from his grip. Draco laughed, shaking his head, and he moved her arms to where he was pinning her hands above her head, laying her across the couch, him above her.

"I've slept next to you every night for the past two months. Trust me, you're a lady." He whispered, kissing the corner of her lips.

"How would you know, you haven't seen anything." She teased, laughing quietly.

"Well, how about we change that right now, I need to know who I'm marrying." He smiled, kissing her, his hands going to the button of her jeans.

"Draco, no!" She laughed louder, her hands still pinned by one of his.

"But, Miss. Granger, I need to make sure I'm marrying a 'lady'. I'm just doing research. Don't you like doing research?"

Hermione laughed louder and moved her hands from under his and reach down, moving his hand away from her jeans. "You can research all you want _after_ the wedding."

"Oh really? All I want?" He asked, now clearly excited.

"Good lord." She laughed, bringing his lips back down to hers, silencing any other innuendos she knew he was planning on making. And right as he was about to try his luck once more with . . . research, Darren began to scream from his room.

"Opps. Looks like you've got to go get your son. And to think, I was actually going to let you research." Hermione lied, smirking at him. Draco glared and gave her one last kiss before standing up.

"Let's not have kids too soon. They interrupt things."

Hermione watched him walk away and for the first time, she could hear those three little words come into her mind, yelling for the escape from her lips. "Merlin." She whispered, shaking the thought of love out of her mind, as well as she possibly could.

* * *

**AN:**

**Well, how'd ya like it? (:**

**I think I like it, I'm trying to move their romance on. . . But you're all going to have to wait till next chapter before there is any real romance. And chaos will occur as well, and I'm extremely excited. This next chapter will be my favorite so far. The Christmas Ball! :D**

**Anyway, do that little thing and review and let me know about how you felt. Please do, It means so much to me. And when I get writers block, I always go back and reread my reviews and they give me the inspiration to continue. So review! **

**Love, **

**Lindsey**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **

**Hey everyone! I'm really glad you all enjoyed chapter eight. And thankfully, I've finished this next one fairly quick. So, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Thanks for all of your love and support.**

**Love,**

**Lindsey**

**

* * *

**

_**Previously on Arranged Marriage: Of a Malfoy And a Granger : **_

_"Opps. Looks like you've got to go get your son. And to think, I was actually going to let you research." Hermione lied, smirking at him. Draco glared and gave her one last kiss before standing up._

_"Let's not have kids too soon. They interrupt things."_

_Hermione watched him walk away and for the first time, she could hear those three little words come into her mind, yelling for the escape from her lips. "Merlin." She whispered, shaking the thought of love out of her mind, as well as she possibly could._

_

* * *

_

For the next two weeks, Hermione spent everyday after classes and on weekends at Malfoy Manor. She had not mastered the art of sitting up straight and "Presenting herself like a Pure blood." Or, at least, that's how Madam Daphne phrased it. Hermione had grown to resent Madam Daphne over the past two weeks. She had been given no free time for studies or even time to spend with her son. The manor was more her home than Hogwarts, it seemed. And that thought made her want to gag. Sure, it was beautiful, but it was cold, much like the people that lived within it's walls.

In all two weeks that she had been there, Lucious hadn't spoken more than three words to her. He had seen her plants of times, even observed once, when she was learning how to make an 'elegant' entrance down the stairs. But still, he never spoke to her.

To add, Draco wasn't aching much different than this father. When she got home at night, they'd take a little bit about their days, and then they went to bed. Hermione was confused by his odd behavior, but inevitably, too tired to care. Draco didn't mean any harm by it. But after having a long day on Darren Duty, and dealing with his own concerns about how he felt about Hermione. . . He was tired. Hell, he could hardly stay awake during their late-night chats., but he did, because he knew that at the end, he'd get his good night kiss. Those seemed to be his only vice, these days. Well, that and quidditch, which would be starting after Christmas break.

But today, today was the final day. No more lessons, no more spending all day away from Darren. Today was it. All Hermione had to do was make her entrance, remember _everyone's _name, and have a conversation with each of them. Simple enough.

"Ouch!" Hermione complained as Madam Daphne tightened her dress. One hour till the first guest would arrive.

"Quit complaining! You act as if I'm sticking you with swords." Madam Daphne mumbled. Hermione sighed, her hands going to her hips. Her hair had already been done and was in a low bun, a braid going from the side of her head and disappearing into her bun. Her make up was light, and matched her dress. All creams, golds, and silver. But Madam Daphne found Hermione's perfect dress not so perfect. While it was outstandingly gorgeous, Madam Daphne wanted it to hug her chest and waist line tighter, which would explain all the tugging. Hermione bit her lip as Madam Daphne pulled it tight one last time.

"Quit that!" Madam Daphne said, swatting at Hermione reflection in the mirror they were standing in front of. "You'll ruin your make up." Hermione glared, but removed her bottom lip from between her teeth. "All done, dear!" Daphne finally said, her hands going to Hermione's shoulders. Hermione sighed and looked at her reflection, almost unable to recognize the girl staring back at her.

"You look beautiful, now make sure you don't mess yourself up. I have to go help Mister Malfoy, now." Madam Daphne said, before giving her once more pat on the shoulder, then disappearing out the door.

The hour passed and Madam Daphne returned to Hermione's room, knocking before popping her head in. "It's time, dear." Hermione nodded, and with a final deep breath, she walked out of the room and towards the stair case. It was now or never. Draco had been at the bottom of the stair case, already greeting some of the guest who had arrived. But now, he heard a small cough from the top of the stairs and he looked up, his eyes landing on Hermione. She looked beautiful, for lack of a better word. He was enthralled, unable to taker his eyes off of her as she slowly walked down the marble steps. Once at the bottom, he took her hand in his, pulling her close, as to place a small kiss on her cheek.

"You look amazing." He whispered, his lips by her ear. Hermione smiled and turned around, revealing the low back of her dress.

"Do you like the dress?" She asked, turning to face him with a pure Malfoy-smirk.

"Love it." He smiled ,and held out his arm for her to take. "Now, come on before my mother has an aneurism." Draco joked, leading her into the ball room. Hermione's eyes widened as she looked upon the lavish room. Everything was silver and white with hints of gold. Almost as if made to make her dress. The room was larger than one would expect, with a large white stage to the far back of the room, and tables aligning the left and right walls, each table covered in either white, silver, or gold. A large, crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room with a soft, warm glow.

"It looks amazing in here!" Hermione exclaimed as Narcissa approached her.

"Well, it better! I've been working on it since September."

"Well, it shows." Hermione complimented.

"And you, My dear, you look good enough to be confused for a Malfoy!" Narcissa clapped her hands with enthusiasm, the being the highest compliment one could ever receive from her.

"Thank you?" Even though Hermione could hardly breath, and her feet had already began to ache from the unforgiving heels, everyone seemed to think she looked fabulous, and she decided to take there word on it.

Soon the ball room was packed with families of the highest pure blood, each discussing politics, money, family, and each trying to figure out what muggles were attending. At Hermione's request her parents had been invited to attend the ball. They were currently occupying the table next to the Malfoy's, with little Darren dressed in robes, on her mother's lap. Hermione approached her parents, Darren instantly smiling when he caught a glimpse of his mother.

"Why, Hermione, you look breathtaking!" Her mother gasped.

"My sentiments exactly." A voice said from behind Hermione, his hand going to the small of her back, possessively.

"And you look quite handsome, Draco." Her mother added. Hermione smiled and leaned down, something she was surprised she could do in that dress, and gave both her mother and father a hug. Under Narcissa and Madam Daphne's request, nor Draco or Hermione could hold Darren. In fact, they had requested that he not attend, at all. But, Hermione disagreed and made sure her parents would watch over him for the night. It nearly killed her not to lean down and pick him up. She hadn't been around him in what seemed like forever.

"Thank you, Mrs. Granger." Draco said before turning towards Hermione. "It seems it's time for my mother to make a _certain_ announcement." Draco murmured. Hermione sighed, nodding her head before waving goodbye to Darren. As she and Draco turned their back to him and began walking away, he began to wail.

They made their way to where Narcissa was and Draco mouthed to Hermione to 'stay here'. Walking up to his mother, he leaned down, whispering in her ear, to which she hesitated in response, and then finally nodded. Draco smiled, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before jogging back to Hermione. "Come on." He said, taking her hand and leading her out of the ball room.

"Wait, what about the announcement?" Hermione said, turning to look back.

"I got Mother to give us a few more minutes." He answered, opening up a glass door to the far left of the hallway that they were currently in. It opened up to a reveal a private garden, illuminated by floating candles, and a waterfall in the middle of the stone walkway. Hermione gasped as she took in her surroundings.

"What are we doing out here? Your mother has been planning this for months. She'll be trying to Avada us if we don't go back." Hermione whispered, the garden being so intimate that she couldn't help but to talk quietly.

"Hermione, calm down. You've done amazing tonight. Both my mother and my father are very impressed with you." Draco interlaced their fingers as he spoke. Hermione blushed, her eyes going to her feet. "I brought you out here because, I wanted to steal you away before the announcement." He spoke. Hermione looked up and met his eyes, giving him a gentle smile, but it was obvious she was freaking out inside. The entire world was about to find out about her and Draco, and that just made the situation so much more terrifying and real. Draco gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and continued.

"In just a matter of minutes, our engagement will be announced. But I don't believe this whole 'engagement' is real, yet." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver ring. A large square diamond sat in the center, surrounded by two smaller ones on either side. The band was small and feminine, and held the diamonds elegantly. He took her left hand and slowly slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

A prefect fit.

"I never thought I'd say this to you, but Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

Hermione smiled down at the ring, marveling at how the candle light flickered upon it. She then smirked before answering him. "Well, I can't really say no, can I?"

Draco smirked, "You wouldn't say no, even if you could. I'm Draco Malfoy. You'd never get a better offer."

"Well, shouldn't Draco Malfoy be on his knee?" She pushed, not just silly banter.

"In these pants? Besides, I'd never get on one knee. That's just too romantic for my taste."

"Well, if you want to marry me. You better brush up on the art of romanticism. I happen to be a hopeless romantic."

"Well, you might just remain hopeless, then." He smirked. Hermione laughed, but never-the-less, wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up to kiss him. She couldn't stop herself, the next thing she knew she let three little words slip from her lips.

"I love you."

She hadn't meant to say it. Hell, she hadn't even been sure, before this moment, if it were even true. But she couldn't take it back now. Draco pulled back from the kiss, grinning like a mad-man. Hermione first thought he was going to make gun of her, but instead, he pulled her close to his body and she succumbed to his kiss.

"I love you." He whispered, his hands around her waist, his lips on hers. At that moment, unbeknownst to either of them, the bond had finally opened. The Ministry had stated that this 'bond' would only occur with genuine love between both parties. Neither of them felt any different, and at that moment neither had their minds on the letter or anything about the bond. To be honest, they both had forgotten all about it. They were wrapped up in the moment, undisturbed until a house elf popped up by the door.

"Achm." He coughed quietly, bowing. Hermione broke away, blushing, and thankful that it hadn't been anyone else who found them.

"Master, Mrs. Malfoy request yours and Miss. Granger's presence in the ball room." He spoke, avoiding eye contact. Draco nodded, thanking him. He then disappeared with a small 'pop', and Draco took Hermione's hand.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked, opening the door and abandoning the intimacy of the small garden.

"As I'll ever be." She replied, checking her reflection in one of the many mirrors that lined the hall. The Malfoy's apparently like to look at themselves. They entered the ball room, Narcissa already standing on the large stage, the rest of the guest making their way to their respective tables. Draco led Hermione across the floor and towards the stage, taking the steps up the stairs slowly.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight. Lucious and I are so glad you could make it. I hope you all have been enjoying yourself." She paused, giving the onlookers a smile. "Now, this Christmas Ball isn't only out traditional ball. It's also a gathering for a special announcement." She paused once again and motioned for Hermione and Draco to join her by her side.

"Lucious and I are pleased to publicly announce, for the first time, the engagement of our only son, Draco Malfoy and Miss. Hermione Granger." Narcissa ended, and most of the crowd applauded out of fear and respect for the Malfoy's. Others mumbled to each other, all wondering why the Pure Blood Prince would marry a Mud-blood.

"Now, please enjoy the rest of the party and Happy Christmas to you all!" She ended her speech, smiling at her Husband and the pair beside her. "Don't just stand there, there's a ball to host!"

* * *

The night went by quickly; Hermione got lost in the crowds of "congratulations" and "Why would he marry you?", and by the time they said goodnight to the last guest, Hermione was exhausted. She hugged her parents, taking a sleeping Darren from her father's arms.

"Goodnight, 'Mione, Draco." Her Dad said, clapping Draco on the back while leading his wife out of the door.

"Here, I'll take him." Draco whispered, taking Darren from her arms. They then said goodnight to his parents and walked up the steps to Draco's bed room. They had arranged to spend Christmas Break with Darren at the Manor, and then spend Christmas Day with Hermione's parents. Hermione opened his bedroom door, sighing at the sight of the bed. All she wanted to do was crawl into it.

"You go change, I'll get him ready for bed." Draco said, pointing to the door at the far left of his room, which lead to a private bathroom.

"Will you unzip me, first?" She asked, turning her back to him. The zipper was low, starting at where her dress ended, which was almost at the end of her spine. Draco nodded, laying Darren down on the bed. He rubbed his hands together, warming them so they wouldn't be cold on her skin before he slowly unzipped the dress.

"Thank you." She whispered, smiling over her shoulder, before grabbing a pair of pajamas and walking to the bathroom. Ten minutes later she emerged, her face washed, and her hair down in gentle waves. Her feet finally out of the torturous heels, and she was now able to breath again. Now out of the tight dress, and in a long T-shirt instead. Draco had Darren changed into his pajamas and sleeping in the crib on the far right wall. Draco had changed into pajama pants, and was currently ridding himself of his tie and button up shirt when Hermione walked out.

"I think that went well." She whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed, her hand going to her eyes, rubbing them. "I don't think I've been this exhausted since the first week we had Darren." She laughed quietly. She pulled her hand from her face, looking down at the ring that now occupied her ring finger.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked, pointing at her hand as he tossed his shirt off. Hermione smiled, nodding.

"I love it. It's beautiful. Tell me though, who picked it out?" She smirked, knowing that it had to of been picked out by someone other than him. It was too beautiful. Draco turned a slight red, seeing that he had been caught.

"The jeweler might have assisted me, just a little bit." He admitted, climbing into the bed.

Hermione smiled, rolling her eyes at him. "I figured. She must have been a woman."

"Why do you say?"

"Cause only a woman could have picked out a ring like this." She smirked, and Draco shrugged, not arguing, because he knew it was true. He pulled back the covers, climbing under and watching as she did the same, slowly settling in next to him. He leaned into kiss her, it was slow and simple and the movement of her lips against his sent a fire through him that seemed to have no antidote.

"Goodnight, Granger." He whispered, knowing he wasn't going to get any further than that, tonight.

"Goodnight." She whispered, smirking. "Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"I won." The room was now dark, and he couldn't make out the extraordinary smirk gracing her features, but he assumed it was there.

"What do you mean?"

"You bet that you would have me out of my knickers before the Christmas Ball. And, the Christmas Ball is over. You lost." She propped her head up on elbow, grinning broadly.

"You only won, cause I didn't want any vital body part to get hexed off of me in the middle of the night." He defended, laughing lightly.

Hermione laughed, rolling her eyes. He had a fair point.

"So... You love me?" He whispered, his tone, teasing.

"Nope. I've changed my mind." She joked, laughing as he leaned down to kiss her once more.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Draco."

It was then, after Hermione had fallen asleep and Draco stayed up, laying awake that he first noticed the bond that had formed. Flashes of images from the war started playing through his head . Things he had never witnessed in battle, for these images were form the prospective of someone fighting for the light side. As Hermione moaned, turning over in her sleep, he realized he was peering into her dreams. Somehow, with out acknowledgment, they had both kept their 'walls' up, not allowing the other person to see into their mind. But now, she was defenseless under the hypnosis of sleep.

This is what she dreamed of every night? The war, and watching people, but light and dark, die. Draco cringed, watching another body fall lifeless to the ground. He closed his eyes, trying to block the images out; when that didn't work, he decided to manually change her dreams instead. He rationalized that if her dreams could enter his mind, then maybe his own thoughts and images could enter hers.

With a mischievous smile, he settled into his pillow, adjusting until he was perfectly comfortable. He closed his eyes and slowly allowed images from his mind to seep into hers. Or at least, that's what he hoped would occur.

First he thought about having her in his arms, laying atop of her, lowering kisses down her jaw, to her collar bone before making a trail back to her lips. Their fingers were interlaced above her head, leaving her defenseless to his onslaught.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips, letting one hand leave hers to slowly make it's way down her body, settling on her hips where he began to pull on her knickers.

Draco was brought out from his thoughts as Hermione let a small "Draco" slip from her lips, it was almost as if in a moan. Obviously the dreams were working. He smirked, and ran a hand over her head that was now resting on his chest, and slowly closed his eyes as he let her take control of the dream. He closed his eyes and watched with interest before finally falling to sleep.

* * *

Hermione woke up the next morning to an empty bed and the sound of the shower running from the next room over. Draco must have gotten out of bed earlier to take a quick shower. The thought of him brought back memories from the previous nights' dreams. She flushed a deep scarlet, laughing quietly.

"Merlin." She mumbled, climbing out of the bed and making her way towards the crib. Darren lay awake, his hand in his mouth as he watched the mobile above him move slowly in a circle. "Good morning, little man." She whispered, picking him up and carrying him back to the bed with her. She sat back against the dark, oak headboard. Darren stretched in her arms, trying to make himself comfortable; once he had, his hand quickly returned to his mouth.

Draco walked out of the bathroom, only a towel worn around his waist. He knew she was awake before he walked into the room and decided to tease her with thoughts of last night's dreams as he walked out half nude.

"Good morning!" He said, walking further into the room. Hermione averted her gaze, blushing once again when she caught sight of his bare, and extremely sexy chest. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. Just weird dreams." She admitted ,her eyes still on the child in her arms.

Draco smirked, walking over to the wardrobe. "Oh, really? Want to talk about it?" He teased, watching her stiffen from the corner of his eye.

"No." She paused, realizing how rude she sounded. "I mean, thank you. . . But, no thanks."

"Suit yourself. Breakfast should be ready soon. And then we have a big dinner this evening, as well." He opened the wardrobe door enough to block himself from her view, not that she would dare to look at him while he was dressed like that. Or at least, not today. He dropped the towel and quickly pulled on boxers and a pair of dark jeans. He skipped the shirt, for now, wanting to harass her just a little bit more.

Hermione looked up, caught off guard by the jeans he was wearing. Since when did Malfoy where muggle clothes? Since when did Malfoy touch muggle clothes? She'd only ever seen him in slacks or pajama pants.

"What's the big dinner this evening for?" She asked, handing Darren to him when Draco reached for him.

"It's Christmas Eve, Granger." He said, kissing the top of her head before sitting down on the foot of the bed, Darren in his arms.

"Oh. Yeah. Of course." That dream was really screwing with her head. She couldn't even think straight. All she could think about was him, his kisses, and those amazing things he could do with his hands. She sighed, shaking the images out of her head. She stood up, knowing she had to get out of the room. She felt almost claustrophobic.

"I'll just go take my shower then. You and Darren can go ahead down to breakfast without me. I'll come down when I'm finished."

"Have fun!" He called, his tone implying strong innuendos. Hermione stopped in her tracks, turning around to glare at him.

"What?" She asked slowly, her teeth clenched. Somehow, in some way, she realized, Draco was to blame for the dream. He must have cast a dreamers spell on her. That little arse.

"I just said, 'have fun'. Why are you so jumpy?" He smirked, sending another wave of vivid fantasies from his brain to hers. In that instant, everything clicked. She thought back to the letter, and the bond that was mentioned. She did all she could not to hex him where he sat. If only he didn't have Darren in his arms.

"Draco Malfoy!" She her scream much like a banshee's.

"Yes?" He faked his innocence.

"It's you! You're the one who put those thoughts in my head! You activated that stupid bond! Didn't you?" Her words left her mouth almost too quickly for him to grasp what she was saying.

"Technically speaking. . . You activated it. I just figured it out first." He smiled, thankful that he was holding Darren. He knew that if he wasn't, his most valued appendage would have been hexed off.

"I'm going to get you back. Just wait." Hermione glared, and finally turned towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. After the door slammed, and he heard the shower start, Draco looked down at his infant son.

"Your mother's going to kill me."

* * *

**AN: The end! (: What did you think? I got it up a lot sooner than my previous chapters. I hope you all enjoyed! And thank you for all the super wonderful reviews. Y'all are the only thing that keep my focused on this story! lol. I'm such a scatter-brain! **

**Also, let me just point out how DIFFICULT it was to type "you all" during Narcissa's speech. I'm a girl born and raised in Louisiana. "You all" is a term I've probably never said in my life. It's always "Y'all" where I'm from. So I had to stop myself multiple times while writing this and remind myself that they're from England, not Louisiana. Completely different dialects. :P**

**Anyways. I love you all! Thanks so much! Please review! (:**


	10. Chapter 10

_"Draco Malfoy!" She her scream much like a banshee's._

_"Yes?" He faked his innocence._

_"It's you! You're the one who put those thoughts in my head! You activated that stupid bond! Didn't you?" Her words left her mouth almost too quickly for him to grasp what she was saying._

_"Technically speaking. . . You activated it. I just figured it out first." He smiled, thankful that he was holding Darren. He knew that if he wasn't, his most valued appendage would have been hexed off._

_"I'm going to get you back. Just wait." Hermione glared, and finally turned towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. After the door slammed, and he heard the shower start, Draco looked down at his infant son._

_"Your mother's going to kill me."_

* * *

Draco was going crazy. Really, he honestly believed he'd die before he even had the chance to marry. She was torturing him at absolutely every inappropriate time she could possible find. Dinner with his parents? Check. Dinner with both of their parents? Check. During a speech he had to make at the ministry? Check. And now, as they were surrounded by their friends in the dinning hall. Another wash of erotic images flashed through his mind, almost making him audibly groan.

Dammit.

"Granger, can I talk to you over here for a second?" He asked, grabbing her elbow instead of waiting for an answer. Darren was in her arms, fast asleep and she brought a finger to her lips as in indication to whisper. "Please, stop."

"Stop what, Malfoy?"

"You know what. I can't take it any more. Just, I'm sorry and please, for the love of god, chill out with the mental porn." Hermione found his begging a little to funny for Draco's liking.

"I told you I'd get you back." She shrugged.

"Yea, well, I'd say that causing me to get a hard on in front of the entire Ministry was good enough." He said, grimacing at the memory.

"You don't think you deserved that?" She scoffed, allowing a smirk to creep back onto her features. Damn, she was getting good at that.

Draco allowed himself to groan as she sent the dream he had so casually slipped in to her head days before, back into his. "Okay, I'm sorry. Whatever. Just stop. "

"Mess with me again, Malfoy, and I won't be so nice." She turned her heel, and walked down the hallway with Darren in her arms, and Draco watching her retreat.

"That was nice?" His words filling the empty hallway before he shoved his hands into his pockets and re-entered the Great Hall.

* * *

He didn't see Hermione or Darren again until that evening, when all the couples and their children were called to the great hall for a meeting. Draco took his seat next to Hermione, taking Darren from her arms.

"Why are we here?" he asked, trying to get Darren to stop struggling against him.

"I don't know. Professor Dumbledore just told me to get everyone here."

Draco nodded, his attention being pulled to the older man approaching the podium.

"Good evening, students. I assume you are all doing well tonight." There was a shrill cry from a baby in the back of the hall, and a few hushed tones trying to calm him or her down.

"I've been given some information about the parenting program that you are currently participating in. The Ministry has informed me, that the babies will begin to age quickly, and by the end of the week, they will be at the age of thirteen months. You've dealt with pregnancy, and taking care of a newborn. Now, it's time to deal with the toddler age."

Hermione looked down to Darren, who only looked the four months old that he was. It was hard to imagine him being over a year old in under a week.

"By the time the program is over, your child, with the advanced aging, will be about two years old. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them the best I can." Dumbledore finished, he hadn't even gotten the last word out before Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Sir, don't you find this a bit cruel?" She asked, causing multiple heads to turn her way.

"By what means?"

"Well, Sir, I've grown to love this child as if were actually my own son, as I'm sure most in the room love their own child. But allowing them to age, and develop their own personality will only cause the parents to become more attached to the child, and consequently making the separation at the end much harder." She said slowly, her hand still half raised.

Dumbledore nodded, his hands resting on either side of the podium. "This may not seem fair, Miss. Granger, but this is the regulations that the ministry have set. If there are any changes, I'll let each of you know."

Hermione frowned, finding his response to not actually answer her question. Sure, the idea of seeing Darren at an age where he could walk and interact with them was exciting, but knowing she'd soon have to say goodbye only lessened the excitement.

"It'll be fine." Draco whispered, sensing Hermione's every thought. Only this time, he didn't have to rely on that stupid connection she'd been torturing him with. Now, he just knew her. Hermione gave him a small smile in response before standing up from the bench and nodding towards the doors of the great hall.

"He's tired, and it's already past eight." She said, her eyes on Darren as Draco stood with him from the bench.

They walked in silence up to the common room, Hermione's eyes on the ground in front of her as her mind warped together all of the possibilities of what it would be like when they had to say goodbye to Darren.

"How are we just gonna let him disappear?" Hermione asked once they had laid Darren down and retreated to the common room couches in their head dormitory.

"We don't really have a choice." Draco replied, his eyes on the DA homework in his lap. It was obvious he wasn't trying to converse at the time being. Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes at him as she pulled her hair up into a high pony tail, fighting back the urge to yell at him for being an inconsiderate arse. They had to talk about this, and the fact that he was ignoring her and their situation infuriated her to no end.

"I'm going to take a shower." She grumbled, standing up from the couch and ignoring him as he looked up at her when she passed. He watched her retreat up the stairs and to their bathroom before bringing his attention back on the homework in front of him. Of course, Hermione was already done with all of hers and wouldn't even offer to do his for him; which annoyed him relentlessly. He should put that on the list they made back at the beginning of this whole mess. She should do his homework for him, or at least let him copy hers. It was only fair.

He heard the shower turn on upstairs and he quickly made work of the homework, finishing it up just as the shower turned off. He put away his books before quickly walking into their room, just as Hermione was walking out of the bathroom, a towel tight around her body. He didn't need that mental bond shit to know she was pissed at him. She shoved past him, completely ignoring that he was even in the same room as she quickly pulled clothes out of her dresser.

"Why the hell are you mad at me?" He asked, watching as she picked up her engagement ring off of the nightstand and shoved it back on her finger. She must have taken it off to shower, he concluded.

"I'm not mad at you."

He watched her move back into the bathroom with her clothes, the door closing and locking behind her. He pulled off his shoes and socks, quickly removing his shirt before walking over to the dresser and pulling out a pair of pants to wear to bed and changing into them. It wasn't even near the time they usually go to bed, but he knew she was going to head straight to bed after she came back out.

He assumed right, because as soon as Hermione came out of the bathroom dressed in her sleep clothes, she headed towards the bed and turned down the covers before climbing in. Draco turned off the lights and climbed in next to her, immediately rolling onto his side and propping his head up so that he could look down at her.

"You're mad."

"No. I'm just. . . Upset." She said, her hands folded over each other on her chest as she stared up into the darkness.

"About what?"

She let out a long sigh before answering, "You don't even seem the slightest bit bothered that in a few months time we will have to watch Darren disappear. How could you not care? I mean, I've always known that you're cold and harsh, but he's technically your son. You have to care." Her words were insanely rushed, and she still hadn't looked at him.

"I do care, Granger." He seethed, offended enough to use her last name. "But I also know that he's just a magic baby. We've know that we have to let him leave since the start of this stupid program."

Hermione finally turned her head to look at him, her brown eyes searching his. "He's not just a magic baby, Draco." She whispered, "he's ours." Draco didn't respond, he instead moved his arm around her waist and pulled her small frame against him. They laid in silence for what seemed like hours before Draco finally spoke.

"We could always get started on another one, if you want a kid that bad." He teased quietly, his lips against her ear as he tried to lighten the mood. In all honesty, he loved the child. Much more than he would ever let on. But in truth, Darren wasn't really theirs. He was a baby conceived by magic for a twisted program and a seriously twisted law. He wasn't a real child.

Hermione shoved away at him, shaking her head. "No." She said firmly, moving her legs out from between his, almost as if to make sure she was keeping them nice and closed.

Draco chuckled, kissing her temple quickly. "Can't blame a bloke for trying."

* * *

"When did he get in here?" Draco mumbled, rubbing his eyes after waking up and finding Darren sleeping between him and Hermione.

"He was crying last night, so I just brought him in here." Hermione whispered, her eyes still closed as she tried to let herself fall back to sleep. Unlike Draco, she had woken up in the middle of the night to feed a crying Darren and then had to rock him in order to get him back to sleep.

"We could have rolled over and crushed him or something."

Hermione groaned, finally opening her eyes. It was obvious he wasn't going to let her go back to sleep. Besides, from the smell of it, Darren needed a diaper change. "He was fine." She grumbled, sitting up and running a hand over her eyes.

"Whatever. He stinks." He complained, sneering down at the sleeping infant.

"Then change him, Draco. Geez." It was too early for him to already be getting on her nerves as much as he was.

Draco groaned as he slowly picked up the sleeping child and moved him into the crook of his arm. He stood from the bed and carried Darren into the nursery and laid him down on the changing table. He made quick work of the dirty diaper and cleaning him up. He brought the freshly changed baby back into the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to where Hermione was laying.

"You owe me. That one was more disgusting than normally."

Hermione chuckled, taking Darren and cradling him against her body. "Fine. I'll tell mom to make those desert treats you love for tonight." She said quickly, slyly letting him know that she had arranged for them to go to her parents tonight.

"Awesome." Draco said with a wide grin, before coming to terms with what she had just said. "Wait- what?"

"I forgot to tell you. My parents really want to see Darren again, and they sent me an owl yesterday asking if we could come for dinner tonight."

"I don't wanna." He whined childishly. "Come on 'Mione. Can't you just take him? I don't wanna go."

"You're going."

"Why?"

"Because, we're engaged. My parents want to see you too. You have to come." Honestly, Hermione didn't want to have to answer all the questions that were sure to be asked if Draco didn't come. Her tone made it evident that there really was no point in arguing with her. She had already obligated him to dinner with his soon to be in-laws.

* * *

The rest of the day went by a little to fast for Draco's liking. Before he knew it, he was standing on the front stoop of Mr. and Mrs. Granger's house, Darren seated in what Hermione had called an 'infant seat'. Some muggle contraption that had took him an hour to figure out how to work, and now he had been forced to be the one to carry it. A four month old was a lot heavier when in this thing, he concluded.

He followed Hermione inside, closing the front door behind them as Hermione ran into her mothers arms, giving her a tight squeeze before moving on to her father.

"Oh, Draco. So nice to see you again." Her mother beamed giving him a quick side hug before completely moving her attention to Darren. She took the seat from Draco's hands and sat it down on the couch. She worked the buckles quickly and pulled Darren into her arms, cooing at him.

"How did she do that so fast?" Draco asked quietly next to Hermione.

Hermione laughed, shaking her head as she placed her hand on his arm and squeezing gently. "It's not that hard."

"Yeah? Well I didn't see you helping me with it earlier."

"I was enjoying the show." She teased, before moving away from to join her mother and Darren.

"How are the sleepless nights going?" A voice came from behind Draco, causing him to turn around and come face to face with Hermione's father.

"Not so bad anymore, actually. He usually sleeps pretty well now." Draco answered, shaking the man's extended hand before shoving his own into his pockets.

"Boys, are you two ready to eat?" Susan asked, looking up from the child. Once Henry nodded, she and Hermione led the men into the dinning room where the table was already set.

They went through the regular pleasantries of asking how school and work was. Susan gushed over how beautiful the Christmas ball had been and Henry bounced Darren until he spit up all over his onsie and his grandfather's vest. Hermione jumped up from her seat and quickly took her son from her father so that she could clean him up. Thankfully, she had remembered to bring a diaper bag and had packed an extra outfit in case this happened. Her father had the knack of making babies spit up, and because of this, he was usually the butt of all of the jokes. Once both Henry and Darren were clean, they returned to the table and Susan took the child away, cooing over him.

"So is there a day care program at the school?" Susan asked.

"No, there is none." Hermione shook her head, looking over at Draco when he stretched and let his left arm fall onto the back of her chair. She liked that he knew to still sell the image of a decently happy couple to her parents. Sure they were happy some of the time, but they couldn't fight their nature. More than not, there was some sort of tension between them. And if they weren't fighting, that just meant there was one building up.

"So you two always have him?" Henry asked, his eyes wide as if surprised.

Draco's groaned answer of a 'yes' let them know just how exhausted the young parents were.

"Well, if it's alright, we'd be glad to keep him for a night or two. Give you two kids a break." Susan offered.

"Mom, I couldn't let you do that. He's exhausting." Hermione answered, only to feel Draco nudge her under the table. Of course he wanted to pawn their son off to her parents. But something about it just didn't seem right. She hadn't spent a night away from Darren since he was born, and he wasn't her parents responsibility.

"Really, it's not a big deal. We'd love to spend some extra time with him. Besides you two need a day or so to yourselves. It's not healthy for a young couple to never be alone."

"But, I didn't bring any extra clothes. Just one other outfit and a diaper bag. And I didn't bring any of the formula." Hermione bit her lip, obviously wrestling with the idea. A night off sounded like a blessing, but she felt wrong for letting her parents watch him.

"We'll take care of it, don't worry. We'll keep him tonight and tomorrow night, and then you can come get him the next morning." Henry spoke up, causing Draco to grin. He figured once Henry had spoke, that was the final word of it and it was official. They were off the parenting duty.

"Well, I suppose."

* * *

"Come on, Granger. Just say goodnight." Draco groaned, standing by the front door. Dinner had long since been over, but he couldn't get Hermione to part from their son.

"If you have any problems at all, just send me an express owl and I'll be here to get him." Hermione said for the fifth time, slowly handing over her son after telling him goodnight and that she'd see him in a few days. "And when you bathe him, make sure the water is luke warm. He doesn't like hot water. And his bottle has to be warm, or he won't drink it." She said, walking backwards towards Draco, who was still egging her on. "And sometimes he eats too fast and gets a little gas. If he starts fussing just rub his stomach and he'll be fine."

"Hermione, we've been through this with you. Just go. We promise he'll be fine." Susan said, kissing her daughter's cheek before sending her the few extra feet towards the door.

Draco took her hand and waved goodbye to the Granger's before finally pulling Hermione out of the house and down the drive way. He moved his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his body. To others it would look like a sweet gesture, but really he was holding her back so she couldn't change her mind and go back and get Darren.

"I don't know about this, Draco." She mumbled as they walked back into the alley, their usual apperating spot.

"He'll be fine, Granger. Come on, we get to go to bed tonight with out having to worry about dirty diapers and spit up." He said, grabbing her hand before apperating them back to their common room. They landed on their feet with a 'thud', Hermione instantly frowning at the fact that it was so quite in the dormitory. There was no sounds of a baby, and she honestly kind of missed it. She didn't like that they only had a few weeks left with Darren and she had already given up two nights with him. She wanted all the nights she could get.

"It's too quite." She complained, following him up the stairs and to their room. She was exhausted, and she could tell by the way he was dragging his feet on the stairs he was just as tired as she was. Once in the room she quickly grabbed a pair of shorts and one of his t-shirts before retreating into the bathroom to change, and brush her teeth and hair. When she returned to the room, Draco was already undressed and in bed; and if she didn't know any better she would have thought he was sound asleep. But, Draco snores when he's asleep. Sure, it's not a loud bear snore. It's light, and sometimes if you're not paying attention you can easily ignore it.

She crawled into the bed next to him, instantly comforted when he pulled her to him, his lips on the top of her head. "You were a little to eager to get rid of Darren tonight." She complained. Draco chuckled, pulling her tighter against him and intertwining their legs together.

"I haven't gotten you to myself since. . well, ever. You're my fiance. I should have have plenty nights alone with you by now." He said, his hand resting on the curve of her side under her shirt, his thumb tracing a single rib bone slowly.

"You have me alone every night. Darren's always in the other room. Well, except last night." She laughed, her own hand mimicking his on his back.

"You know what I mean." Draco whispered, his voice husker than before as he opened the bond between them and sent her images of just exactly what he meant.

Hermione's cheeks turned a bright red, and she was thankful it was dark in the room and he couldn't tell. But judging by his low chuckle, she assumed he knew. "No, Draco." She said, shaking her head firmly as his lips found her neck and he rolled his body over hers.

"Come on." He sighed, his hands moving to the hem of her, well, _his_ t-shirt and lifting it slowly. Hermione sighed, arching her back and against her better judgment, allowed him to lift the shirt over her head. His body pressed more firmly into hers and the feeling of skin against skin made her sigh contently, her lips finding his in a deep kiss. His hands ran over her sides and midsection slowly, tracing every outline and curve before moving over her chest. To Hermione it seemed as if he was trying to memorize her body; she'd never let any man get this far with her and now she was wondering why. The way he touched her made her feel more alive than she ever had, almost delusional enough to give into his touch and allow him to make love to her right then and there. But, she had been saving herself for her wedding night. Although, it was never about religion or her family views, she just had never wanted to sleep with anyone but her husband. And although it was guaranteed that Draco would be her husband, he wasn't yet.

"Draco." His name came out of her lips in a breathy sigh, if she didn't know any better she would have sworn it was a moan. And she was positive that would have been too much for his ego, and she simply could not have that.

"Yeah?" He asked, his lips at her collar bone and still descending.

"Stop."

"What? Stop. Come on, Hermione. Don't tell me to stop, not now." He looked up at her, moving his body back up so that he could look her directly in the eyes.

"This is great, really. But I don't want this to get carried away. Not until we've said 'I do'." She said, her hand tracing his cheek and trying her best to ignore the pitiful look he was giving her. He kissed her once more, distracting her so he could throw her shirt off of the bed and across of the room. If she wasn't going to let him go any farther, she damn well wasn't putting that shirt back on. He at least wanted a view to wake up to tomorrow.

"Alright. Goodnight, 'Mione." He whispered once more, letting his lips ghost over hers.

"Goodnight." She said, sighing as he rolled off of her and pulled her back to him so that she could get comfortable for bed.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, both regaining their composure. Hermione kept the sheet wrapped around her bare upper-body, to Draco's dismay. He was the first to speak, his hand in hair hair as he twirled strands of curls around his finger idly.

"Let's go to dinner tomorrow." He said, looking down at her.

"You mean, out out? Like a date?" She laughed, six months ago if someone said Draco was going to ask her out on a date, she would have laughed in their faces.

"Well, we haven't gone out since we announced the engagement. And he don't have to hide anymore. And, we don't have Darren. It's perfect." Draco said.

Hermione grinned, nodding her head against her chest and she wrapped her arm around his torso. "Alright." She agreed.

"Alright. Goodnight." He said, his words muffled by a yawn.

"Goodnight, Draco." She whispered, allowing the words 'I love you' to exchange between them in their bond.

* * *

**AN:**

**So. Opps. I've had this chapter half written on my lap top for almost a year. I just saw it tonight when I was deleting some old files. I can't believe I abandoned all of you like that. I am so sorry! I can't promise when the next update will be! But I can guarantee it won't be a year again! lol**

**The next chapter involves the date and things might get a bit more 'intense', who knows. I can honestly say I have no planned plot outline with this story. I just write, and where ever it ends up, it ends up. I have no idea when I'm ending the story or how. I'm just writing. **

**Again, I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this. I feel like a fool. But I hope this chapter suffices! I kinda like it. They're starting to understand each other more, and Draco's able to get Hermione more and more out of her comfort zone and I'm loving writing their opposite personalities! Anyways, Review please! And those of you who reviewed recently, or ever the past few months! I have been seeing all of the reviews, and this story is not abandoned! I promise! I'm back!**

**Love, Lindsey.**

**Please review and favorite! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well, here's the much awaited chapter eleven! At least it didn't take me half a year this time, right? So I'm getting better. :)**

**Anyway, I hope y'all had a wonderful thanksgiving and thank you to all of my loyal readers and reviewers! Y'all are what inspire me to keep writing, even when I'm in a funk! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Previously on An Arranged Marriage: Of a Malfoy and a Granger**

_They lay in silence for a few minutes, both regaining their composure. Hermione kept the sheet wrapped around her bare upper-body, to Draco's dismay. He was the first to speak, his hand in hair hair as he twirled strands of curls around his finger idly._

_"Let's go to dinner tomorrow." He said, looking down at her._

_"You mean, out out? Like a date?" She laughed, six months ago if someone said Draco was going to ask her out on a date, she would have laughed in their faces._

_"Well, we haven't gone out since we announced the engagement. And he don't have to hide anymore. And, we don't have Darren. It's perfect." Draco said._

_Hermione grinned, nodding her head against her chest and she wrapped her arm around his torso. "Alright." She agreed._

_"Alright. Goodnight." He said, his words muffled by a yawn._

_"Goodnight, Draco." She whispered, allowing the words 'I love you' to exchange between them in their bond._

* * *

It wasn't every morning that Draco got to wake up to the sound of silence. In fact, he had almost forgot what silence sounded like during the past four months. If Darren wasn't making noise, than you can bet your ass that Hermione was on some tangent about whatever the hell Draco had done to get her knickers in a twist that day.

Draco slowly opened his eyes and looked over at the sleeping girl beside him. The fact that the sheet had moved down her body during the night made him grin. He could see her _much_ better in the morning light. He rolled over onto his side, letting his hand that had been resting on her back slowly move over her spine.

"Wake up." He whispered, chuckling when she frowned and buried her face further into the pillow.

"The one morning we don't have Darren, and you want to wake up early?" She fussed, glaring up at him. It was only then that she realized the sheet she had used to cover her bare upper-body was now at her hips and she quickly snatched it up and covered herself.

"Since when do you not wake up early?" He frowned, if he was going to be up then she should too. He didn't want to have to entertain himself. He hated being bored.

"Since it's the weekend and I don't have to take care of a baby." She answered, sitting up and using one hand to keep the sheet to her chest, the other ran through her hair.

"Well, wake up." Was all Draco said before climbing out of the bed and heading towards the bathroom for a shower. Hermione watched him leave, groaning as she fell back onto the bed. She just wanted to sleep a little while longer. That wasn't so bad, was it? Just as her eyes were closing and she felt herself falling back to sleep, Draco began his usual high pitched whistled tune he does every time he showers, only this time it was louder. That Git, he was doing it on purpose.

Hermione opened her eyes, glaring over at the bathroom door before she finally got out of the bed. She found her shirt on the floor and pulled it over her head. Her feet landed on the cold hardwood floor once she was out of the bed and she instantly shivered. Almost as if on instinct, Hermione began making her way towards the nursery to check on Darren; it wasn't till her hand was on the door knob that she remembered he was still with her parents. Her heart sank, and with a heavy sigh she turned around and walked out of the room and into the common room.

She plopped down on one of the couches in front of the fireplace, wrapping herself in the quilt that was laying over the arm of the couch. Having already caught up on all of her work and then some, and not having Darren to take care of, Hermione really didn't know what to do with herself. She hadn't had free time in over four months, and now that she did, she was bored.

Despite the warm fire and the blanket around her, Hermione could still feel the cool December breeze make its way into the castle. She couldn't wait for the weather to warm up again, she was tired of the snow and how she had to wrap Darren up so tightly just to go outside. She heard the shower shut off from upstairs and only a few minutes later a dressed Draco made his way down stairs, eying her form on the couch. She had left the bond open without realizing it, and he had all access to her thoughts. And currently it seemed she was missing their 'magical' son quite a lot. There was no way he was gonna put up with that pity party for the rest of the weekend, he wanted to have fun with his fiancee for once while they were baby-free. This attitude was definitely gonna put a damper on things.

"Can you be ready by Seven?" He spoke up, causing her to turn and look at him from her spot on the couch, her eyebrows raised.

"I don't wanna go out. It's going to get really cold tonight." She really hated when winter came at full force; it locked her inside. Still, she had promised Draco they could have a 'real date'. "Can we just spend the night in here?"

"Come on, Granger. This is the first time we've really been together without Darren." He used her surname, causing her to glare at him. He moved over to the couch, sitting down next to her, his arm going to lay against the back of the couch. "How about an actual date?"

Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes before glancing over at him. It was clear he wasn't going to let go of his idea from the night before. Sure, she'd love to go on a date with Draco, as his fiance. But couldn't he wait till spring? She really, really didn't enjoy going out in the cold. Even the best warming charm did her no good. Still, she allowed a soft 'Okay' to slip from her lips as she lost the will to argue this with him.

* * *

It was late that evening that Hermione stood in the bathroom, perplexed on what exactly his plans were for them tonight. He had been extremely tight lipped all day; he hadn't really spoken to her except to tell her that he was going out for a while. Where? He wouldn't tell her. She had heard him return only a few minutes prior, and he called out to her, telling her to be ready in half an hour. Why was she suddenly nervous? She shouldn't be. She almost considered it absurd that she was. But this was the first real one on one date that She and Draco were going on. As a couple, the delicate ring on her left hand reminded her of that. She glanced back up at her reflection in the mirror, unsure If she was supposed to be in casual wear or if he had something more fancy planned.

"Draco?" She called from the bathroom.

"Yea?"

"Where are we going?" She asked, running her hand through her hair as she bit at her bottom lip in thought.

"It's a surprise Granger. " Was all he said from the other side of the closed door before retreating. Hermione huffed, fine. If she didn't dress the part for tonight than it would be his fault, and she would be sure to let him know.

Twenty minutes later she emerged in a pair of dark 'skinny jeans' - some knew muggle fad that she found to be just a little too tight to be comfortable, and a loose off-white blouse topped with her old leather jacket. She determined it was far too cold out to even consider a dress, but she deemed that she looked nice enough for a decent restaurant. (Although, she was sure if Madam Daphne caught a  
glimpse of her going out like that, she'd kneel over dead).

"'Bout time. Took you near forever." Draco huffed, standing from the edge of the bed and grabbing his black tie that laid next to him. Was he not even going to tell her she looked nice? Prick. What kind of man doesn't tell his 'date' she looks nice? It was safe to say Hermione was a little one edge tonight. Draco had talked her out of owling her parents twice to check on Darren, and he hadn't really spoken to her all day. She missed her son, and she didn't like not knowing what Draco had up his sleeve. In fact, she was more that weary of his plans for tonight.

"Is this okay?" She asked, ignoring his gruff tone, her arms making a move to show off her outfit.

"Yeah. That's fine." He nodded, leading her out through the portrait. That was about as close to a compliment that she was going to get out of him, it seemed.

"No portkey?"

"No. We're just gonna walk. It's not that far." Draco said, which only sparked Hermione's curiosity. It was too cold out to actually make a long walk, and to be honest, Draco really wasn't dressed for the cold. He didn't even wear a jacket over his black button-down. He suddenly stopped, causing Hermione who was walking behind him, completely lost in thought over where he was taking her, to crash into him. He steadied her quickly, and to her surprise he didn't scold her for not watching where she was going.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, meeting her eyes.

"Depends."

"I'm gonna need to blindfold you."

Hermione's eyes went wide and she quickly shook her head. "I don't trust you that much!"

"Give me a break, Granger. I don't want you to know where we're going. It's a surprise."

Hermione groaned, turning her back to him and allowing him to tie the soft black tie around her eyes.

"Maybe you'll let me get this out on the honeymoon." He teased, and Hermione tensed at his words. He chuckled under his breath, his hands running down her arms. "Relax, it was just a joke." Although, there was no way he'd turn it down and she wanted to take this blindfold to some extracurricular activities. He took her hand in his and slowly began leading the way down the bare hallway.

"Don't run me into anything." She mumbled, her free hand gliding against the wall beside her. She didn't seem to be enjoying herself as much as Draco had planned. Most girls would have swooned over being blindfolded and led to a secret 'romantic' location. But then again, Granger had never been like most girls. It was part of her charm, he presumed.

"Calm down. We're almost there." He whispered, his lips at her ear. She fought off the shiver that ran down her spine from his close proximity. That seemed to be happening more and more lately. She silently nodded, her hand still clutching his. Draco grinned to himself as the doors to the room of requirement appeared before them. He took a step forward, dropping her hand so that he could open the door.

"Malfoy?" She couldn't feel him near her anymore, and a part of her was beginning to fear that this was all some practical joke he planned to make her look foolish. She reached to yank the blindfold from her eyes, but Draco's hands caught her just in time.

"Not until I tell you, Granger." He mumbled, he was standing behind her with a hand on her hip, the other on her upper arm. "Take about ten steps forward."

Hermione did as she was instructed, taking slow, hesitant steps. She may be engaged to the man, and she may happen to love him. But she knew better than to trust him. She stopped at the tenth step and heard the doors close behind her. Where ever they were, it smelt lovely. She inhaled deeply, a small smile on her face. She felt his hands work at the tie, slowly undoing it and letting it fall loose from her face. What she opened her eyes to made her gasp, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her wide eyes looked around the room.

The room was dark, only lit by dozens of floating candles all around the room. There were large windows on the far side of the room, allowing moonlight to poor through past the open, dark red tapestries. There was a small table set for two in the middle of the room, the table cloth matching that of the tapestries. There was a small vase of red roses set in the center, and two candles on either side of it. To the right of the room was a large fireplace that lit up as she looked at it, illuminating the rather large dark leather sofa that sat in front of it. There was a soft, unfamiliar music playing over head that seemed to complete the room's atmosphere.

"Should I take your silence as your approval?" He asked, smirking.

"It's gorgeous." She beamed up at him, standing up on his tip-toes to quickly press a kiss to his lips. "Absolutely perfect."

"Yeah. Well, I didn't feel like listening to you complain of the cold if I actually took you out of the castle on a real date. So I had to compromise." He explained, ignoring her glare as he walked around her and to the table. He pulled out her chair, allowing her to sit at the table before moving to his seat. With the snap of his fingers, their meal appeared on their plates. Hermione was pretty sure it was the most delectable food she had seen in her life.

"Since when do you cook?" She asked hesitantly.

"I don't. Elves do." Draco chuckled as Hermione glared, quickly pushing away her plate. There was no way in hell she was about to subject herself to a meal prepared by poor, mistreated House Elves. "Don't worry. They were paid." He said, watching as she slowly pulled the plate back to her. The food _did_ look delicious. And if they were payed, then it was okay to eat it, she concluded.

"Looks like I might be rubbing off on you." She teased, taking a sip of the drink in front of her. She sighed in delight when she realized it was Butterbeer. The liquid warmed her throat on the its way down, causing her to take another sip.

"Don't flatter yourself. I knew I'd get a lecture on Elf rights if I didn't pay them." He mumbled, smirking when she rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't matter." She dismissed him, her playful smile letting him know it was just mindless banter. "Thank you for doing all of this." She said, her voice soft as the conversation took a more serious tone. Draco nodded through his mouthful of roast, chewing quickly to reply.

"It's no problem. It's nice to actually have a night with you where we don't have a kid." Somehow his free hand had found hers across the table and their fingers intertwined.

"As much as I miss him, I have to agree. I forgot what it felt like to actually be a teenager." The idea made her laugh. Here she was, sitting down at a romantic dinner, alone with her once sworn enemy who was now her fiance, discussing how happy they were to have a night off with out a child. They were eighteen for Merlin's sake. This should be a conversation to be had in years down the road, not now, and not with Draco Malfoy.

"Something funny, Granger?" He asked, her last name falling off his tongue by accident. He had used it too much today for her liking.

"This whole situation. Us, this stupid law, our magical baby." She was still laughing as she spoke, her hand dropping her fork and clutching her stomach. Draco eyed her curiously, there was nothing funny about their situation. If anything, it was tragic. Of course, he loved her. Or at least, he thought he did. He'd never been in love before, but he was certain now that the bond of theirs worked, that must mean that they actually loved each other.

"It's not that funny."

"I know. But if I don't laugh, I'll cry." She said, her laughter dying down. She took another swallow of the Butterbeer to sooth her throat. "It's a lot to take in. In just a few months our entire lives are going to be changed, Draco. We'll be married, graduating from Hogwarts and moving on to start a life together. Us. You and me. Up until a few months ago, we couldn't even be in the same room with out trying to hex one another. Now, we're getting married. It's all too surreal."

Draco nodded solemnly, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been thinking about that a lot recently. Sure, they harassed each other daily, and acted as if this should all be normal. But truth is, they were both freaking out about what was to come. He had expected an arranged marriage all of his life, so it didn't come as quite an earth-shattering shock to him to know his marriage would be arranged. How else would his family make sure that he carried on his family's prestigious blood line? But to know that he was getting married at such a young age, to a woman he had recently hated for not just her blood, but her very being? That was a completely different story. He hadn't been prepared for that.

"We'll get through it." His words didn't offer much support, but Hermione took comfort in them anyway, nodding her head.

"We have no other choice but to." She agreed, squeezing his hand before releasing him so she could eat freely with both hands.

Dinner went by with light conversation, discussion over what a fuss Darren probably was causing her parents, and how much they both seemed to miss him. After dinner Draco led Hermione over to the large leather sofa in front of the fire, taking her leather jacket from her as they walked. Hermione took her seat, settling back against the warm leather as Draco joined her.

"Did I do a good job?" He teased, referring to the night he had planned for them.

Hermione eyed him, chuckling. "Are you fishing for a compliment, Malfoy?"

"After having to associate with house elves, and pay them for work they already do for free, I think I deserve a compliment." He looked like a child sulking as he spoke.

Hermione scoffed, running a hand through her hair. "It was lovely, Draco. Thank you." She allowed him his well deserved compliment, and the kiss he leaned in for right after that.

It wasn't for another half hour until they spoke, Hermione telling him a firm 'no' when he reached for the button on her pants. Her shirt had long since been lost, thrown over behind the couch somewhere, as was Draco's.

"Come on, 'Mione." He teased, his lips at her neck as his hands moved away from her jeans and back up to her rib cage. He knew he had to wait for the wedding night, but that didn't stop him from pushing the limit every time. Hell, he'd just gotten to second base last night, which took about five months longer than it would have if it had been with any other girl.

"No." Although her breathless response didn't sound too convincing.

Draco chuckled against her skin, biting at her collar bone playfully before moving his lips back to her swollen ones. "Fine. But we're not leaving the bloody room on our honeymoon. We've got a lot to make up for."

Hermione giggled, only to be silenced by another long, deep kiss that rendered them speechless for the second time that night.

* * *

Hermione couldn't remember making it up to their room last night, yet somehow she found herself in their bed, dressed in her pajamas with no sight of Draco in the room. She set up, her hand running through her hair as she looked around, completely disoriented.

"Draco?" She called, her feet slipping out from the blankets and landing on the cold hard floor of their room. She hadn't really drank last night, yet she was completely lost in how she got from their romantic date to their bed.

"Yea?" He asked, half his body sticking out of the bathroom, a foamy toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth.

"How did we get back here?" She asked, only for him to raise a hand to tell her to wait before he disappeared back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. He emerged a few seconds later, chuckling at her look of pure confusion.

"I carried you back. You passed out on the couch in the room of requirement." He said, and Hermione blushed a deep scarlet. There was no way she had fallen asleep in the middle of them snogging. She would never, ever live that down.

"I like to think you fainted from my kiss. Or maybe I just snogged you into exhaustion."

Hermione groaned, hiding her face in her hands. Bloody hell.

"I'm just kidding. We were laying on the couch, catching our breaths for a minute. Next thing I knew, you were out. I only got you awake enough for you to change into your night wear." He laughed at Hermione's sigh of relief, kissing her forehead quickly before moving past her to find clothes from his wardrobe.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower. I want to go pick Darren up when I'm done. He'll be changing into a toddler tomorrow, you know." She said, moving to her own wardrobe to pick out something to wear after her shower.

"Yeah, I know. I need to finish a few things around here. Mind going alone?" He asked, he really didn't have much to do. Just a few questions in Herbology, nothing he couldn't do later on. Truth was, he really didn't feel like going to the Granger's again today. Their muggle talk and contraptions confused him relentlessly, and nearly every time he was around them, he walked away with a headache.

"That's fine." She answered, already expecting some sort of excuse from him for not wanting to come.

She took her shower quickly, the idea of getting to have her child back seeming to make her rush through her normal routines. Once out, she used a quick drying spell, along with her now-usual taming spell for her hair. She changed quickly before grabbing her wand and heading out of the bathroom.

She found Draco in the living room, hovered over his book to make it seem as if he actually was extremely focused on his work. Hermione rolled her eyes, leaning down to give him a quick, fleeting kiss to his cheek. "I should be back in about half an hour. If you go down to the great hall to eat, could you bring me back something?" She asked, and he nodded quickly, his hand raised to wave her off.

* * *

Hermione arrived at her parents house just a few minutes later, quickly knocking on the door before walking right in. "Hello?" She called, smiling when she heard the familiar coo coming from the kitchen.

"Sounds like your momma's here." Susan said to the baby, smiling up at Hermione when she walked into the room. Hermione quickly took Darren from her mother, hugging him to her chest tightly.

"Oh, I've missed him." She sighed, inhaling his familiar scent. He seemed so much bigger, even though it had only been two days. She was scared to think of the difference he would be by just tomorrow morning.

"He's been a perfect angel." Susan said, moving around the island of the kitchen so she could pick up his bottles and put them back into the diaper bag.

"I'm glad. We were worried he was giving you guys quite a fuss. Thank you so much for taking him for a few nights, mum. I would have never had asked."

"Oh, it was our pleasure. It was nice to get to spend some time with him before he up and disappeared."

Hermione gave her mother a soft smile, not really wanting to think about that so soon. "We best be going, Draco's waiting for us back at school." She said, grabbing the diaper bag, and putting Darren in the infant seat they her brought two nights before. She hugged her mother quickly, before heading out the door and apperating back to Hogwarts.

* * *

"We're back." Hermione called, walking in through the portrait and dropping the diaper bag by the door before heading up to the nursery to take Darren out of the seat. She quickly made work of the buckles once there and pulled her son into her arms.

He smiled up at her, his legs and arms flailing happily as he cooed. Hermione grinned, walking through the bathroom and into her's and Draco's bedroom.

"Oh yeah, looks like you are really busy." She mumbled, looking down at Draco's sleeping form on the bed. She sat down on her side, smiling when Draco instantly turned over when she joined him.

"Hi." He mumbled, his voice still filled with sleep. He couldn't help the small smile that graced his face when he saw his son staring back at him. "Hey, little man." He gave the baby his finger, allowing him to clutch it tightly.

"Mum said he was very good for them." She beamed, allowing Draco to take Darren from her arms and lay him against his bare chest. Some how between her leaving and getting back, Draco had gone back to being half-naked. Darren immediately curled into his father, his hand quickly going into his mouth as his eyes began to shut. Hermione had to agree with her son, his father's chest was one of the best pillows in the world. "Did you bring me anything from the Great Hall?" She asked, her voice low as her Darren began to drift off.

"Yea. It's downstairs." Draco replied through a thick yawn.

Hermione nodded and silently made her way off of the bed and downstairs. She quickly found her plate and at the still-warm food he had brought her up, along with a glass of pumpkin juice. She hadn't realized just how hungry she had been until she took the first bite. Fifteen minutes later, after she was finished she returned to the room to find both Draco and Darren sound asleep, their chests heaving in synchronously. She smiled at the pair, moving to lay down beside them, curling into Draco's side and laying her head against his shoulder. It wasn't long until she joined them in their mid-afternoon nap, all three slipping into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? I'm not too crazy about the ending. But I wanted to wait till the next chapter to skip ahead to Darren aging up. Also, I'm thinking about making this story do a little bit of a fast forward, maybe after the next two chapters? Skip ahead to getting ready for the wedding and what not? Let me know that you think! And once again, thanks for reading!**

**Make sure you review, you know how much I love hearing from all of you! **

**-Lindsey**


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